One of the practices I use to help me connect to God is listening to music. There are so many wonderful Christian songs with powerful messages. Whether they are great hymns or contemporary songs, I find tremendous comfort and inspiration in the lyrics, melodies, and performances of these songs. One of the songs that I have enjoyed of late is “How Far” by Tasha Layton. It is a powerful song that reflects so beautifully on the message of our faith.
The opening of this song expresses the feelings that so many people have about their own life. It also reflects the depth and breadth of the mercy and love of God. Here are the opening lyrics to How Far:
How far is too far. I thought I’d be there by now. I followed shame to the place.
I was sure Your grace ran out. So I kept running and running and running.
But You kept chasing and chasing and chasing. A million miles of my mistakes.
Still couldn’t keep Your love away. However far away I am from home.
That’s how far Your love will go.
Have you ever thought, “I have gone too far and done too much for God’s love to reach me?” We often struggle with our past. We dwell on our mistakes. It does not take much reflection on our lives to find thoughts of disappointment and even shame. It can lead us to a place where we feel isolated. We worry that no one, especially God, could truly love us if they truly knew us.
Here is the good news: There is no distance we can travel, that God is not already there waiting for us. There is no action that we can take that God’s love is not still present, working in our lives. There is no obstacle that God will not overcome, just to draw close to us and work to restore us to the people he created us to be.
The mistakes of our past are not the full story. God’s love is more than capable of overcoming our failures. God is willing to rewrite our story. As the Apostle Paul writes, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
I am truly thankful for how far God’s love will go. As we continue together in this season of Lent, I want to encourage you to stop running from your past and stop running from God. Be still and know that our God is love. Our God is for us, and because of God’s great love for us, nothing can separate us from the one who truly knows us and who truly cares for us.
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
