Alternative View - July 14, 2017
A Love That Will Not Let You Go
In His Presence: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).
When he was eighteen years old, author and theologian George Matheson went blind. Yet, he continued his studies and entered college where he became an outstanding student. Later, he was ordained as a preacher in the Church of Scotland. Throughout his early years, his sister remained at his side, helping him to study and learn Greek and Hebrew—which added spiritual depth to his writings.
He was, however, destined to suffer an even greater loss. His sister married and he was forced to confront his impending loneliness. A broken marriage engagement in his own life left him questioning God’s personal love and divine care.
It was during this period of his life that he wrote a well-known hymn proclaiming the one thing that he believed was still true. God’s love for us will never let us go. He writes:
“O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.”
Some believe that Matheson wrote these words on the day that his sister was married. He confessed, “Something happened to me on that day, which was known only to myself and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. This hymn was the fruit of that suffering.”
Perhaps you have suffered a great loss, and you don’t know how you will ever worship God again. Your dreams are shattered and your heart is broken. Worship does not always come as a result of overflowing joy. It also can pour out of a heart that is hurting. After all, it was Job who wrote, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 15:13). God understands, and you can still worship Him because He will never let you go.
One Minute Please
Worship is simply our response to a loving God who refuses to let go of us.
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