Comfort in Our Agony

      My heart aches for the mother who holds her daughter's hands, watching and hearing her breathe those oh-so-soft breaths created and sustained by a machine.  My soul grieves for the mother who will hold her son no more, taken too quickly in his own despair and desperation.  Tears well up in me as my eyes take in the pain all around me.  Broken dreams.  Overwhelming fears.  Lost causes.  Shattered hopes.  Destroyed plans.  No one is immune.  We all hurt.
     Father, Your people writhe with real pain that cannot be spoken away, dreamed away.  Pain that pierces the very core of our beings.  Father!  We cry out for You to move!  We cry out for You to heal.  We cry out, O God, for You to hold us and be our Victory. 
     And You have heard us in our agony.  You have seen us from  before the beginning of time, and You knew the pain of our today.  You knew, and You loved us. So you sent a Healer.  You sent a Comforter.  You sent our Redeemer.  You sent us   Jesus! 

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand