…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
The dislocated people of the Kingdom of David were in exile. Jerusalem was in ruins and the temple had been utterly destroyed. They were in a land, Babylon, that is not their own, and feel helpless and hopeless. They were in the middle of a long dark night of their collective soul.
Then Yahweh speaks to them through his prophet Isaiah…
Do not be afraid… you are not alone. I am with you.
Do not lose focus… focus on me. I am your God.
I’ve got you…I hold you.
When my daughter, Nicole, was less than a year old, she had a lot of trouble sleeping. Sometimes she would wake up a couple of times a night. We didn’t know why; maybe it was simply That she would wake up and feel abandoned and alone…in exile in the room across the hall from Mommy and Daddy.
Often I would sit in her dark room gently rocking her in an old wooden rocker chair that we had inherited from my parents. I would cradle her in my arms, and whisper words of comfort like; Daddy’s here…I’ve got you…listen to my voice…”
I would also sing…gently sing. I would sing slowly and softly the same three praise songs; I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, Glorify Thy Name, and Majesty. Okay, no comments about my age (it was two decades ago) and these three songs were simple, truthful, and full of repetition. This is very helpful when singing in the middle of the night when you are sing exhausted. The importance of talking, cuddling, and singing was to reassure my baby girl was that she was never alone, to draw her focus to my voice, and to comfort her in the loving arms of her Daddy.
Were you ever in a season (or are you now) where you felt like you were out there all alone; feeling exiled by catastrophe or human conditions or health? Did it seem like it was never going to end? Let Jesus speak to you. Let him hold you in his arms and rock you. Let him sing softly to you…
Do not be afraid… you are not alone. I am with you. You are precious.
Do not lose focus… focus on me. I am your God. Feel my heart beat.
I’ve got you…I hold you up. I will not let you go.
The glory of having a living God who gets it!
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I used to sing “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “To God be the Glory” to the kids until they would fall asleep. Sometimes I was the one that fell asleep fist though 🙂
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On those nights where I was desperate, I used to break out the big guns: “Let There be Peace on Earth” and “It is Well with My Soul.” I think those two speak more to my state of mind.
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