A Cry from the Heart

Praise be to God,
who sent His one and only Son
to die for our sakes.
You threw Yourself into the midst
of all the sufferings and sins,
the very same ones we faced.
You set aside Your crown
and put on the garbs
of beggars, of sinners.
You came not to rule,
You came not to preach,
but You came to love,
You came to live
the very words You spoke.

And oh, how foolish are we?
We who are blind and lost,
deceived by our very own lies.
We, who would not be able to
recognize our very own Savior,
our very own Father.
We say we know you,
but we don't "know" you.
We love you, but we're not in love.
We pray and worship,
but oh, what empty words.
We say we have you figured out,
we put You in our little box,
measuring You out, fitting You in,
because we can't comprehend,
can't fully accept,
Your sovereignty, Your grace.

We hear of the gas chambers
and we ask "Where was God?"
We saw the Towers fall
and we asked "Where was God?"
We see homes burn, people killed,
lives stolen, hearts broken,
and we ask "Where is God?"
You were in those gas chambers!
Your heart was falling with those towers!
You were broken, You were stabbed,
You were there, always there.
Oh Lord, You who has overcome
both the world, and death,
has done all that in order to show us,
to connect with us, to say to us,
"I understand, I feel it too."

Loss after loss, death after death.
This world is a truly dark place,
filled with the very evil we create.
You saw the depravity of this world,
and yet, You put Yourself in our shoes.
You embodied the suffering,
You consumed the agony,
You burdened Yourself
with the weight of our sins.
You took such unspeakable evil
and turned it into a resounding crash
of good, mercy, and grace
that was heard by all ears.

I can look at this world,
and stare at evil in its face.
Though, I quake in fear,
and may waver in my fight,
I will forever have hope
and forever find peace
in knowing that my Father
not only knows, but feels.
Though I may find myself
trapped in the darkest of pits,
there will never be a pit
deeper than my Father's love.
You have already walked a
thousand miles in my shoes
You will bring good and comfort
in all the suffering I will come to know.

Amen.