scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
It feels like a tear in my heart
Like a part of me missing
And I just can't feel it
I've tried and I've tried
And I've tried
Tears on my face I can't take it
If lonely’s a taste then it's all that I'm tasting
Do you hear my cry?
I cry
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me in your arms?
Just wrap me in your arms, in your arms
I don't wanna be nowhere else
Take me from the dark, from the dark
I ain't gonna make it myself
Put your arms around me
Put your arms around me
Let your love surround me
I am lost, I am lost
If I ain't got you, yeah
If I ain't got you, I ain't got nothing at all
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me in your arms?
In your arms?
I feel like it's just me, like it's just me
What it gon' take? What it gon' be?
I don't even know
It’s not just you
But I'm lonely, feeling like
I don't even know me, I don't even know me
I feel it too
Gotta have you, gotta see you
You’re the only thing I ever think about
The only one I that can't live without
Gotta see you
I need you, need you to hold me now
If I ain't got you, if I ain't got you
I ain't got nothing, I ain't got nothing
If I ain't got you, I ain't got you
If I ain't got you I'm lonely
If I ain't with you I'm lonely, I'm lonely
I need you
I need you
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me?
Can you hold me in your arms?
I feel like it's just me, like it's just me
What it gon' take? What it gon' be?
I don't even know, I don't even know
But I'm lonely, lonely
Feel like I don't even know me
Feels like I don't even know me
I don't even know
Can you hold me in your arms?
Psalm 42:1-11
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Ecclesiasties 3:1, 4, 7b
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
7b a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
Romans 12:15b
15b Weep with those who weep.
Reflection
In many conversations with people over the years and in moments of my own experience, I’ve come to understand that positivity can only take you so far. Many lovely, well-meaning people try to encourage their brothers and sisters who are struggling by telling them to “hang in there”, or “look on the bright side”, or the more spiritual version, “God is using this for good”. I know I’ve used those words.
And God does redeem all things. But sometimes people aren’t there yet - aren’t at the place where they can really hear that and receive it. The grief and the pain may still be so overwhelming that these well-intended comments are like trying to slap a bandaid on a gaping wound. We are quick to feel like we need to say something, but in the face of tragedy and grief, there often is nothing to say.
What if when we don’t know what to say, we just don’t say anything? Years ago a dear friend of mine was going through a horrific time as her world fell apart. As we sat crying in my car outside of an In’n’Out late one night, I felt totally useless. I couldn’t change anything in her situation. I didn’t even have anything hopeful or comforting to say. So we just sat there and cried together. And that was it.
She later told me how helpful that was, to just be listened to, to have someone cry with her. And now, years later, it has become a painful but also precious memory in our friendship. Rather than letting our discomfort drive us to try to quick-fix, we can be a picture of the presence of God to those in pain, by being with them in that place as He is with them. To care like He cares, and to bear the heavy weight with them.
Take a moment to reflect on your own life. How do you typically respond when you experience pain? Are you prone to dismiss or pretend? How do you respond when others are experiencing pain? Are you quick to try to “fix” or put a positive spin on their situation? How does God’s tender care in the midst of redeeming bad things bring comfort? How can His presence and care become an anchor for those in grief?
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