Four Seven
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor 4:7 NIV)
Welcome
Hello, and welcome to Four Seven. We're not sure how regularly this will be updated, but basically this started with an exposition I wrote on a new Jars of Clay song called "Show You Love". We'd been pondering doing something like Four Seven for some time, but had never really gotten around to it before now. With a little prodding Four Seven was pretty much born as a place to ponder, dissect, and thoroughly massacre as many Jars of Clay songs as possible.
Enjoy.
I hereby fully admit that it's my fault Four Seven hasn't been updated yet. I told Kaelis I wanted to do this song, he agreed to allow me write the piece, and I took forever about it. I'm sorry, all.
Big thanks to Kat for helping me with my scripture references, and thanks to Kaelis for more of the same and also for being so patient.
This song is intrinsically haunting. It deals with loss, death, loss of faith and loss of our sense of connection to God, yet it relies heavily on the promises of God to pull us through. I hope this encourages you.
You have led me to the sadness
As much as we know that God is a God of love, that He wants nothing but the best for us, that He wants to see us at peace, we also must know that there are times when God will lead us into sad times and hard situations that may leave us with life-changing wounds. What we have to remember is that His are not the cuts of an enemy, but the incisions of a surgeon, or rather the indents made by a master potter working with us, His clay. Job talks about how painful this can feel in Job 10:8 - 9. " Thy hands have framed me and fashioned me Together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast fashioned me as clay; And wilt thou bring me into dust again?"
I have carried this pain
On a back bruised, nearly broken
We have gone this far carrying our pain ourselves, holding our wounds close, never wanting to show them; we're a mass of fears, betrayed trusts, and broken dreams. In our own strength, we can't carry on.
I'm crying out to You
We come to the realization that we are not sufficient in ourselves, and when that day comes, we cry out to God. Often it's an inarticulate cry of sheer desperation... felt more than thought, and wrenched from us... God, I need You! He's there to take our burdens upon Himself. In 1 Peter 5:7, we read, " Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you."
I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy
And then His Mercy comes and He takes us in His arms. He shows us His salvation, and takes us by the hand. From that day on, we're never alone in our dark times. He's leading and guiding us, and if we cling to His hands, we will make it through the sadness into the joy. Psalm 5:11 says " But let all those that take refuge in thee rejoice, Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee." When we cry out to Him, He promises to defend us. Also, Psalm 126:5 promises "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
When death like a gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I don't know how much explanation this needs. Death comes to each of us, and often before that day, it comes to one we love. I've lost two people close to me very recently, and it often does feel like Death has stolen our loved ones from us.
I will look to the heavens
I will seek Your face
But we know that God has ordered our steps, and that He is a wise God. In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." This is especially comforting when paired with Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an unexpected end." He has a time for each of us to leave this world, and our best recourse in times of grief is to look heavenward and cry out to God once more.
But I fear You aren't listening
Because there are no words
We as humans want God to respond with words. We understand words (indeed some of us love them, ahem), and when God doesn't respond with words, we often panic and think He's not hearing our cry. But the Bible says that he does hear us. Psalm 17:6 is one of many, many scriptures that assure us that God will always hear us: "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thy ear unto me, and hear my speech."
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that assures
But we carry a deep, abiding hunger to know God, to be unshakable in our faith. I think we usually wish ourselves to be free of doubt, even; however, if we don't doubt, we can never truly be sure we believe. It's in doubting, in questioning our beliefs, that we truly find them to be unshakable; if we search the Bible with an open, prayerful heart, we will certainly find the strength we need.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
While we wait for rescue
With our eyes tightly shut
These lines automatically calls to my mind images of Christians praying. We tend to pray with our eyes shut, do we not? If this isn't what Jars meant, I'm sorry, but I can't get past that image. We want to be rescued from this life, from the pain, from the learning experiences, from the doubt, from the fear, and from the darkness.
Face to the ground using our hands
To cover the fatal cut
More images of us praying... I've seen people facedown on the ground in prayer, and have been there myself more times than I can count. We're wounded and crying out to God.
Though the pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
We've all been there, I think. The pain feels as vast and tempestuous as the seas, and we wonder if it will ever cease.
You have calmed greater waters
But remember: Jesus actually calmed a stormy sea more than once. Matthew 14:24, Mark 6, Luke 8, and John 6 all record times when He calmed storms in nature; how much more can He calm the storms in our lives?
Higher mountains have come down
There are numerous accounts of Jesus healing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wounds. He is no less powerful today than yesterday: Hebrews 13:8 tells us "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever."
I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David
