“Whenever, wherever, we’re meant to be together; I’ll be there and you’ll be near and that’s the deal my dear.”
I woke up with this song in my head, yet I’ve not listened to it for years. In fact, the last time I heard it was probably June 2013 when I was singing it at a Karaoke bar in Heidelberg, Germany. Anyway, the lyrics grabbed me this morning.
That line from the chorus is a paraphrase of Psalm 139, except this time it’s God speaking.
These words from this psalm were of great comfort to me when I was at my lowest after my daughter was born in 2016. Each time I felt myself plunging into the darkness, when paranoid fears overtook me and the loneliness set in, it was this psalm that would pull me back.
I felt utterly helpless, useless, abandoned. And oh so alone. Always so alone. Even in a busy room of people, alone. Until this psalm found me. And oh did I weep. Suddenly, I was reminded that even on the darkest day, God’s Spirit was with me as a light, a guide, a safety net.
Psalm 139 is a beautiful image of our relationship with God. He searches us and knows us. In fact, he’s known us since before we were formed, when we were being knitted together. And he is always with us, even when we try to get away. He is one determined pursuer of our attention.
“Whenever, wherever, we’re meant to be together; I’ll be there and you’ll be near, and that’s the deal my dear.” Who knew Shakira was a theologian?
A New Mission 