Lord, You Never Let Go

There is a song that I continue to listen to every single day that really touches my heart. As I have said in the past, I worship through music. Listening to Christian music and singing praises to the Lord is what keeps me centered on what I am doing with my life. Music impacts each of us in different ways. We all have different tastes but its there, in everything that we do. This song in particular is not a very recent song, but its pretty new to me.

The version that I listen to is sung by a singer who I loved when I was younger. She and her sister had been Christian's but their music moved a little away from that. A couple years ago, the younger of the two broke out on her own and released her first Christian song, which I have talked about before. I was so moved by it that I began to search for more Christian songs by her, and I came across one that is called "You Never Let Go". To better explain how this song effects me, I am going to break it down to the most important part, but feel free to listen to the song yourself.

"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"    
                                    -- This part explains so much about what has been going on in my life and my families lives. There is such unrest happening and it really feels like we are sometimes walking in the Valley of the shadow of death and sometimes I can't find a way out because I'm treading water. The one thing that remains true in my life is that I have a peace in my heart to know that God is always by my side.

"'Cause I will fear no evil, For my God is with me, And if my God is with me, 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 yeah!"
                                    -- This part is also so very powerful. There is so much evil around us and it can consume us. We can get trapped in this world and the vast evil that surrounds us. Evil is inevitable because we are human and we ALL sin every single day. Yet no matter what evil we do, or what evil is done to us, God is literally there through the whole storm. He is with us when we are on top of the world and He is with us when we hit rock bottom.

"And I can see a light that is coming, For the heart that holds 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"
                                 -- I talk a lot about the light in darkness. There are points in my life where I felt that the darkness was more powerful than the light. I was drowning in my own sorrows and of the sorrows that have been brought upon the lives of my family and friends. Even through all the darkness in front of me right now, and all of the stress, and the physical and emotional pain, I have joy in my heart because I see that God's light is still shining so bright, and there is nothing that can be compared to it because there is nothing like it.

There will be an end to these troubles, there will be no more death, no more pain, no more loss, no hate, no more tears, no more broken promises, no more lies, no more searching for something to fulfill yourself. We will be with God one day, but until then, we are living on this earth with one another. We have a chance to know Jesus here and we have the chance to share His love with those around us who may be facing that same darkness.

I am not perfect, there are times when I don't care to see the light of God in my life. However, that light never leaves me. Even when I am angry and turn away, the light of God remains steady. Things won't be peachy here on earth. I have to sit here and wonder if I scare boys away because I am so outspoken about the Lord, but at the same time, if a boy can't handle that, then it means they are one, not right for me, but beside that, they may still be in search of the love of Jesus Christ. I use that example not to complain but to share that there is an everyday battle to get others to love Jesus the way that a lot of us Christians do. It hurts me to think that there are people stuck in this darkness, and can't see the light that is always shining the way for them to go.

I am not saying to go into the light and die, I am saying that when we can see nothing but terrible, consuming darkness, there is still a beautiful, strong light that is at the end of that tunnel. God is there reminding us that there is light and that we have a chance to be that light in our communities. Take a moment and try to shine that light somewhere in your life in the next couple of weeks. If each of us just shines that light to even one person, God can impact so many lives, even if it happens one by one.
The Lord never lets go, ever. He will never, and has never let you go. Find peace in that, because I know that I do.

The song is called "You Never Let Go"- AJ Michalka