When calamity strikes

From Joni Eareckson Tada's meditation on the hymn, Come, Ye Disconsolate:

Sometimes it's impossible to sing.

It happens, sooner or later, when you experience a bitter calamity. A lump where it's not expected. A child disappearing while at play. A car veering over the yellow line. A devastating diagnosis out of the blue. The slam of a door, then a loved one gone. When it occurs, it will feel bizarre, meaningless, and undeserved.

You won't perceive it as a test of faith or as the Lord's discipline. You won't view it as a blessing in disguise or as part of a wondrous plan engineered by a trustworthy God. Instead, the tragedy will attack every conviction you ever held about the goodness of your Lord. You know him to be gracious and kind 99.99 percent of the time, but, oh, that wretched .01 percent when all appears malicious, cruel, and unjust. ....

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish;
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.

This is a song for the utterly inconsolable—a person whose sorrow runs so deep it can only be eased by the strong arm of all three persons of the Trinity. And that's exactly how God portrays himself in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (KJV): "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you." ....

So should sorrow make you feel vulnerable and emotionally raw, if you feel defenseless, remember that all three persons of the Trinity are for you. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are very familiar with sorrow and are ready to infuse you with all consolation, hope, and sustaining grace. It's something you can sing about and sleep on.

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish; Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying, Hope of the penitent, fade-less and pure! Here speaks the Comforter, in mercy saying, "Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot cure":

Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing Forth from the throne of God, pure from above. Come to the feast prepared; come, ever knowing Earth has no sorrows but heaven can remove. Thomas Moore (1816)

Joni Eareckson Tada, Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls, Crossway, 2022.