(Listen to the full song before reading this. I know it looks long, but honestly it's worth your time.)
When I was little, as I have previously written about in another post, I was plagued by nightmares. One of the things that would calm me down at night was when my dad would play this song for me. The song is so powerful it could probably speak for itself. The words and actions of the father are so precious and touching. I was always comforted, thinking not only was my earthly father here to comfort me, but so is my Heavenly Father.
I distinctly remember one night when I was awoken by my own crying. I had dreamed that I could not find my father, no matter how hard I looked. For a child, not being able to find your parent is so distressing, I thought I would never be okay again. Yet, I woke up to find my dad at my bedside, and the relief of reality washed over me.
Now that I am older, I find myself occasionally stumbling into the role of the son. Whether it be my own selfish ambitions, or the chains of my insecurity, I will find myself wondering where I am and where my Father has gone. Yet, I find the words of the Father crying out to me as He does in the song, "Come here my precious, I know you are hurting, and though you have left me, I welcome you home."
There is something powerful in our God. After all the pains we put him through, throwing our own sinful lashes and weights upon him, He still wants us and adores us dearly. "I love you, oh how I love you." The Father sings in the song. I am always humbled greatly by this song. I think terrible thoughts in the day, I complain that God has not given me the life I deserve, or that I just think I'm broken, that God did not make me the way He should have. Terrible, terrible thoughts, and His response to me is He loves me, and is waiting for me to just give it all to Him and let Him love me; God alone can unravel my fears and cut away the pain of my life. Just as the boy does in the song, I then find myself filled with grief, grief that I am so ungrateful for such a loving God who died for me.
Yet, I then find myself revived, as I recall my Father's triumph of death. Just as He died for me, I die to my old self and start anew, singing the song of the boy and Father "I'll have no other, for I love you only. I'll never forsake you, or leave you alone." "Here in your arms, i'll always be, at rest in the precious love you have for me. I love you, oh how I love you." I have been faced with depression several times in my life, and I truly believe it is God's love that carries me through it, and I hope you know how much you are truly and undoubtedly loved.
