A sad thing happened on the way to the typewriter to write this blog. A news article caught my eye. The son of Christian rapper, TobyMac, died unexpectedly sometime during Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. It’s human nature that we are drawn to those who’ve had or are going through experiences similar to our own. Though I don’t know TobyMac personally, my heart goes out to him and his wife, and their family.
Like so many others, I look forward to TobyMac’s daily #speaklife memes. On March 16, 2017, he posted this graphic:
It is a shorthand version of Isaiah 46:4, which reads in full:
I will be your God through your lifetime –
Isaiah 46:4 (NLT)
until your hair is white with age.
I made you and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.
This message came to me – literally – in my darkest hour as I was sitting in our study in the early morning unable to sleep after learning that Brooke had been killed by a reckless driver just the evening prior. Panic overtook me, as I became concerned that news of the accident would spread across social media before we could finish sharing the news personally with family and close friends. When I opened Facebook to see what was out there – TobyMac’s meme was the first thing that I saw.
It instantly brought comfort. A sliver of light in the dark before the dawn. A needed reminder that I wasn’t alone. I had never been alone and more importantly that I never will be. This was the first hazy glimmer of hope that it wouldn’t always be that dark.
The circumstances of our lives will rise and fall. At times, it will feel like the moon exists merely to draw our last breath of hope out to sea with the low tide. When things start to look up, we are caught off guard by a surge of waves; the salty surf suffocating the narrow channels reserved for life.
Isaiah reminds us that no matter how we feel – we can always trust God. God is the only constant. God alone is never caught off guard by the pounding shore. God alone never gets snagged up in the cosmic tug of war. God alone is the one whom we can trust.
We can trust Him to carry, sustain, and rescue us – no matter what. Even when the diagnosis is grim. Even when money is tight. Even when addiction tightens the noose. Even when others betray and abandon us.
Even in our darkest hours.
Dear Father, we thank you for being our steady Rock and our firm Foundation especially when we life bears down hard. Especially in the restless moments before dawn when dark threatens never to leave. We ask that you send your Holy Spirit to comfort all of your children who are suffering through life’s storms. We especially seek your hand of comfort for the McKeehan family as they weather this disastrous season of loss. May they feel the comforting reassurance of your promises and the sustaining power of your hope.
You are our God in all seasons. You are our constant source of endurance that carries us through the storms. Your unfailing love is our assurance that You will rescue each and every one of us. You speak life into our darkest hours. Let this hope be sufficient to sustain us until that day of no more tears. We pray this through your Son, Jesus Christ – Amen.
SDG
