The Sound of Amazing Grace

AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET THE SOUND

THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME

I ONCE WAS LOST, BUT NOW AM FOUND

WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE.

Many of us grew up with these comforting words and know them by heart. I heard this song in church, I heard it at funerals, I heard it played on the bagpipes and I even sang it to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun” accompanied by my guitar. I've cried to the words, I've brushed off the words, I've clung to the words. Just recently, as I listened to my cousins sing them again at a memorial service, a new thought came to mind. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound? What does Amazing Grace sound like? Is there more to that line than just the comfort of hearing those two words spoken together?

My mind naturally goes to the sounds of nature; a babbling brook, the ocean waves, the wind in the trees, a meadowlark singing. All of these things remind me there is a God, there is a Creator who brought each of us, and all of this, into being. Have you ever noticed how troubles seem so much smaller when you sit at the beach and listen to the waves beat against the shore?

I hear Amazing Grace in a child's laughter, in an old man's wisdom, in a mother's lullaby. I hear Amazing Grace in the words, “I forgive you,” and “I will always love you, no matter what.” I hear Amazing Grace when a choir sings, when the thunder rolls, when the geese fly by on their way south. I hear Amazing Grace when I hear “The Star Spangled Banner”.

But, what about the times when it seems like there is no god, no justice, no reason for so much suffering? What about the times when we cry out and there is no answer? What about when a horrible tornado, mudslide, hurricane or earthquake devastates a whole community? What about when a child suffers at the hands of an evil adult? What about when war and rampage abound? What about when disease steals the life away from our bodies? What does Amazing Grace sound like then?

Listen carefully. It's still there!

A tough, muscled firefighter, digging for hours in the rubble, falls to his knees and weeps as he hears the voice of a survivor when all hope seemed lost. A community rallies around it's members when tragedy strikes, vowing to rebuild together. A young woman who just lost her husband to cancer comforts a stranger in the hospital waiting room. A father and a son speak to each for the first time in years as they stand together against the odds. A newborn baby cries with life in the midst of the bombs and the gunfire in a war torn country.

Hurt and sorrow and evil abound in a fallen world. But, even in the worst situations, a cry of victory, a call of hope, a whisper of forgiveness, a prayer of gratefulness can be heard. God is not afar, he is within. He is not uncaring, he wipes our tears. He is not slow to respond, he is always on time. It is our own lack of understanding of his love, his Amazing Grace, that leaves us afraid and angry. If we truly grasped this perfect, unfailing, 'only the best for us' kind of love, we would hold tight to that anchor and know that we are never out of his sight.

Just because I may feel alone doesn't mean I am. Just because I may feel forsaken doesn't make it true. Just because I lose faith doesn't make God unfaithful. Just because I don't hear Amazing Grace in my circumstances doesn't mean it isn't there. Maybe I'm just not listening for the right thing.

Maybe I believe Amazing Grace only sounds like the galloping hooves of the white horse Jesus is riding in on to take away my problems. Maybe I am so focused on rescue from my storm that I miss the sound of his Amazing Grace giving me comfort and courage in the midst of the storm, and the strength to make it through the storm.

If God loves us, why doesn't he intervene? Why does he allow bad to happen? Why can't I feel him with me? Mere words can never answer these questions; only relationship can. In the midst of pain we can't always hear his Amazing Grace. But, when we look back, we can see how God brought us through, as long as we don't grow hard and bitter in the process.

I don't understand it. I admit it. I've gotten mad at God, accused God of injustice, and turned from God. But, he has never turned from me. I'm a rescuer. I know if God gave me the power that I would rescue everybody, but that isn't always the most loving thing to do. As I look back, I realize I am better because he didn't rescue me from some things. There are still a few things I don't feel that way about yet, but it's his omnipotence, not my understanding, that matter.

He is God and I am not. That is the only answer I have. The longer I live on this earth, the more I understand that concept. The more I understand, the closer I get to trusting him in everything. The closer I get to trusting him, the closer I get to believing he really does love me and really does have a plan for good and not for harm for me. I think when we are able to truly, deep in our hearts, (bypassing our brains), down to our very core believe he loves us, we will always be able to hear his Amazing Grace. My prayers now are less about 'getting' from God, and more about truly knowing his love and Amazing Grace.

Am I there yet? Heck no. Not even close. I'm still whining and listening for thundering white horse hooves most of the time! While I totally believe in miracles, and would gladly accept one if it came, I am more willing now to say ''Don't rescue me if you have a better plan for me!' I think Jesus put it, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

Ultimately, the sound of Amazing Grace will welcome us to heaven and our struggles here on earth will be over. We will walk with, and talk with, and abide with Amazing Grace Himself forever.

In the meantime, I believe God's plan is that the sound of his Amazing Grace should come through us, through ME! If I choose to speak with kindness, if I choose to encourage, if I choose to say 'I forgive you', isn't that truly the sound of God's Amazing Grace in action? If I choose to cry with someone whose heart is broken, isn't that the sound of Amazing Grace in action? If I choose to sing songs of praise in the midst of sorrow, isn't that the sound of Amazing Grace in action? If I choose to overlook the anger and the hatred and the fear in a lost soul's eyes and tell them about Jesus, isn't that Amazing Grace in action?

Maybe, just maybe, if we spend more time living Amazing Grace, the world will realize how sweet the sound of Amazing Grace really is!