I Won’t Let You Go
(Jon Foreman)
God the Nurturer
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
When it feels like surgery
And it burns like third degree
And you wonder, “What is it worth?”
When your inside’s breaking in
And you feel that ache again
And you wonder, “What’s giving birth?”
If you could let the pain of the past go
Of your soul
None of this is in your control
If you could only let your guard down
If you could learn to trust Me somehow
I swear, that I won’t let you go
If you could only let go your doubts
If you could just believe in Me now
I swear, that I won’t let you go
I won’t let you go
When your fear is currency
And you feel that urgency
You want peace but there’s war in your head
Maybe that’s where life is born
When our façades are torn
Pain gives birth to the promise ahead
If you could let the pain of the past go
Of your soul
None of this is in your control
If you could only let your guard down
If you could learn to trust Me somehow
I swear, that I won’t let you go
If you could only let go your doubts
If you could just believe in Me now
I swear, that I won’t let you go
I won’t let you go
I’ll always be by your side
I I swear, that I won’t let you go
If you could only let go your doubts
If you could just believe in Me now
I swear, that I won’t let you go
I won’t let you go
I won’t let you go
There ain’t no darkness strong enough that could tear you out from My heart
There ain’t no strength that’s strong enough that could tear this love apart
Yeah, there ain’t no darkness strong enough that could tear you out from My heart
Yeah, there ain’t no strength that’s strong enough that could tear this love apart
Never gonna let you go
Never gonna let you go
I won’t let you go
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriter: Jonathan Mark Foreman, Timothy David Foreman
© 2016 Gangs Of Palomar Publishing
CCLI Song #7068407 | CCLI License #632898
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.”
Isaiah 49:15 (ESV)
God is our Father. We call Him Father, He presents Himself as our Father, and we are called His children. When we think of a Father, we think of a protector, a provider, and a guide. Praise the Lord, He is indeed all of these! But are the perfections of God limited to these humanly fatherly attributes? Could God also be a nurturer? Could God also be an emotional comforter? Could God also be “motherly”?
Christians, of course, have to be careful when dealing with metaphors. After all, everything we know of God and could know of God are what He Himself has revealed to us. And the way in which God the Father presents Himself to us is just that: as a Father. We all know that there is no “God the mother” in the holy, blessed Trinity. So what do we make of all the maternal metaphors in the Bible?
In Isaiah, God compares His faithfulness to a mother nursing a child. Indeed, He is even more faithful and will not forget His people! In another passage, He declares:
As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 66:13 (ESV)
The Lord comparing Himself to a mother in no way undermines His Fatherliness. On the contrary, it shows the full depth of His love for us! He provides as well as nurtures. He protects as well as comforts. He is faithful to us like a loving parent!
This is also profound in our understanding of humans as God’s images as well! Since the Creation account emphasizes that God created man in His image, male and female, then that means our maleness and femaleness are both aspects of His image. There is nothing about earthly fathers or men that reflect the fullness of God any more than mothers and women; the image of God is incomplete without both male and female. Thank God that we have both in the family and in the church!
This should be of great comfort to mothers, struggling to piece together the complex puzzle of parenthood. Know that in your efforts to be faithful and godly mothers, you are reflecting the image of God Himself.
This should be of great comfort to those who do not have their mothers present, at any age and for whatever reason. God Himself is your Comforter, and will be faithful to you, even more than a mother to her beloved children.
This should be of great comfort to the childless, praying and yearning for the gift of children. You are yourself the image of God, and you are safe in His arms.
In all of life’s pains and pleasures, sorrows and joys, hold on to the Faithful One, who will provide every need of body, soul, and spirit.