Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. – Job 13:15
When author and theologian George Matheson was 18 years old, he went blind. Yet he continued his studies and entered college, where he became an outstanding student. Later, he was ordained as a preacher in the Church of Scotland. Throughout his early years, his sister remained at his side, helping him to study and learn Greek and Hebrew, which added spiritual depth to his writings.
But he was destined to suffer an even greater loss. When his sister married, he was forced to confront his impending loneliness. A broken marriage engagement in his own life left him questioning God’s personal love and divine care.
During this period of his life, he wrote a well-known hymn proclaiming the one thing that he believed was still true: God’s love for us will never let us go.
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
Some believe that Matheson wrote these words on the day his sister was married. He confessed, “Something happened to me on that day, which was known only to myself and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. This hymn was the fruit of that suffering.”
Perhaps you have suffered a great loss, and you don’t know how you will ever worship God again. Your dreams are shattered and your heart is broken. Worship doesn’t always come as a result of overflowing joy. It can also pour out of a hurting heart. After all, it was Job who wrote today’s verse.
God understands, and you can still worship Him because He will never let you go.
