When a brother in Christ recently introduced a new song in worship, it didn’t surprise me that Matt Redman wrote it. God has used this worship leader from England to bless the Body of Christ all over the world. Yesterday, a surprise gift came in the mail from a sister in Christ. It was the latest PASSION cd which contains this song entitled YOU NEVER LET GO:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Your perfect love is casting out fear.
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life,
I won’t turn back; I know You are near.CHORUS
And I will fear no evil, for my God is with me.
And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm.
Oh no, You never let go, in every high and every low.
Oh no, You never let go, Lord, you never let go of me.And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that hangs on,
A glorious light beyond all compare.
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes,
We’ll live to know You here on the earth.CHORUS
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on.
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes,
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You.CHORUS
What an anthem for the believer! I always have a hard time focusing while going through chemo. My mind gets fuzzy and I become slower in my thinking. Scientists have concluded that cancer chemotherapy affects the part of the brain that enables a person to do mathematics. This is bad news for a math teacher! We’ve all been taught to do our best and to not make excuses, but what if your best is not too good? At least I can say I have a better understanding of those with learning disabilities… and “Lord, forgive me for ever looking down on someone else’s weakness.”
But this song shifts the emphasis away from self to a better place – He is our hope! If He is with me, what then shall I fear? There is a light coming to the one that hangs on. Can I hang on? “But child, I am hanging on to you.”
A couple of weeks ago, an elder in the church where I grew up in Chattanooga told me how much he prayed for me. I thanked him and told him how humbling it was that so many people cared enough to pray. Then, with tears in his eyes, he shared his experience of going through heart surgery and being totally unable to make any decisions. “But, Dana, when my wife told me of all who were praying for me, I realized I didn’t have to be in control. I actually felt like God was holding me in His hands.”
This is the great truth we all must grasp: God holds on to us! I may be facing unbearable persecution; He is holding on. I may have lost a precious friend; He is holding on. I may be facing a terminal disease; He is holding on. Satan may be coming after me with full force; He is holding on. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
“Oh no, You never let go, Lord, You never let go of me.”
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39