Songs of the Heart #2 - 'Hard to Get'

That initial spark from a journal entry initiated another... See, most of the groundwork of my faith and what I know of God has come from songs. It's how He speaks to me. I just can't always explain how it works. 'Day by Day' started me thinking that I could turn it into a devotional-type series. I wrote two, back in June of '07, and just the other day got the idea for a third, which I am working on. Here, for your reading pleasure, is the second one in the "series", 'Hard to Get'. It's a little longer than the other one, but it's because there's more lyrics to this song than the other!!

June 15th, 2007

You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love, and who get hardened by the hurt
Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said
Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then.
Did You ever know loneliness? Did You ever know need?
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on and Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat
Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained
And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know is if

You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead and we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret
I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
To where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along, I guess.
That's just Your way and You are just plain hard to get
- 'Hard to Get' by Rich Mullins

I love this song. I just can't help but sing along with every fiber of my being. It's the last few lines that get me every time. I can't count the number of times I've felt so lost that I gave up trying to find a way, only to find God waiting for me at rock bottom, shining light a few feet in the right direction. That's one of the more interesting things I've learned - that God does His best and greatest work at the lowest and most miserable moments in our lives. It's like that old saying; "You can't fix what isn't broken." I have a t-shirt with a great phrase on it - 'healing comes to the broken places first'. God can't heal us until we recognize our brokenness, and give it up to Him.

So when I feel like God is playing "hard to get" in my life, when I really need His direction, I remember that it's when I get completely derailed and I'm totally lost that God shows up, in all His Glory, with a road map.

And so You've been here all along, I guess.
That's just Your way and You are just plain hard to get.

Just plain hard to get.