I have discovered that in the midst of our deepest grief, the Lord is never far away. When we fall to our knees with hearts a-breaking, rending the heavens in the agony of despair, He beckons, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matt 11: 28-29) And to that troubled soul who cries out, “can I ever be whole again, O Lord? Canst Thou make my troubled and confused life right again?”
“Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!”
I know that He loves you and that He loves me. He is the Shepherd of Israel, who leaves the flock to go and search for the lamb that is lost. Shall we not acknowledge the Good Shepherd? Shall we not remember that “though yours sins be as scarlet they (can) be white as snow?”
“O Carpenter of Nazareth,
This heart, that’s broken past repair,
This life, that’s shattered nigh to death,
Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?”
And by His kind and ready hand,
His own sweet life is woven through
Our broken lives, until they stand
A New Creation—“all things new.”
“The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,
Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,
Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”
It is never too late, nor are we ever too old, to approach the throne of mercy, for this I know with every fibre of my being; He, the Shepherd of Israel, the lowly Carpenter of Nazareth, He healeth the broken in heart!