This is one of my favorite contemporary Christian songs. It talks of God’s faithfulness and healing power in our lives. Here’s a breakdown of the lyrics with a few comments from me:
I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away
One of the reasons I like this song so much is that it begins by telling a difficult truth. The relationship we have with our all-benevolent God is a mysterious one. This God who loves us deeply nevertheless sees us suffering, and seemingly, our prayers for a quick resolution go unanswered. Where do we go with that?
I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Those unanswered prayers don’t lead us to give up. As people of faith, we have our eyes open to the suffering of the world and we return to prayer, we cry out again for God to help. Even if God’s goodness won’t lead to an immediate removal of our suffering, surely we can count on God to walk with us in the midst of our confusion and difficulties.
When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands
Indeed, the presence of God brings healing. Whether it’s a world in turmoil or a personal crisis–or both–God is holding us in love. But in this shaking world filled with heartbreak, how can we be confident of this?
When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right
The testimony of God in Jesus. God came down and showed God’s love in word and action. I think it’s one of the reasons that Jesus consistently referred to God in prayer as his Father. Whatever else God might be, it’s clear that “loving and intimate parent” was part of the equation. But God didn’t come down just to minister to the broken, lost and hurt; he became broken, lost and hurt on the cross. But that wasn’t the end of the story. In the resurrection, we are given license to hope for the day that God will set all things right.
When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands
Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still
The song ends with lyrics that are both cosmic and intimate. The hands that shaped the world are the same hands that wipe our tears away when we’re crying, that give us a hug when we most need it, that pick us up when we fall down. This cosmic, intimate, present, healing, all-loving God is the one that we proclaim in all we do.