In the spirit of the season, I was looking around for Christmas songs to keep my mood perky at the office. It is my last month here, after all. Somehow I stumbled across this vocal group called the Gaither Vocal Band. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of Southern Gospel or how country-ish it sounds, but I decided to give their Christmas album and their latest release, Lovin’ Life a listen.
I stumbled across this song, When I Cry, which really wasn’t the mood-lifter I was looking for. Instead, it’s a ballad that reminds us that God is there through our suffering. I remember a mentor exclaiming loudly at people calling tragedies like the Bukit Antarabangsa collapse “God’s will”. He said vehemently, and I agree, that “God had nothing to do with it!”
Pain and suffering are inescapable on this earth, but to say that God wills needless tragedies on us is a lie. I suppose this song says everything I think about how God really reacts in the midst of tragedy:
Makin' a list of all of the good things You've done for me Lord, I've never been one to complain But right now I'm lost and I can't find my way My world's come apart and it's breakin' my heart But it helps to know Your heart is breakin' too When I cry, You cry When I hurt, You hurt When I've lost someone It takes a piece of You, too And when I fall on my face You fill me with grace 'Cause nothin' breaks Your heart Or tears You apart Like when I cry Alone in the dark, face in my hands, crying out to You Lord, there's never been a time in my life There's so much at stake, there's so much to lose But I trust it to You You'll bring me through And it helps me to know that I'm not alone When I cry, You cry When I hurt, You hurt When I've lost someone It takes a piece of You, too And when I fall on my face You fill me with grace 'Cause nothin' breaks Your heart Or tears You apart Like when I cry You're the one who calmed the raging sea You're the one who made the blind to see You looked through all of heaven and eternity And through it all you saw me... When I cry, You cry When I hurt, You hurt And when I've lost someone it takes a piece of You, too When I fall on my face, You fill me with grace Nothing breaks your heart, or tears you apart Like when I cry