A song that we highly recommend to keep on one’s “need encouragement” playlist.  THE HURT AND THE HEALER by MercyMe is from the album of the same title.  Bart Miller, the band’s lead vocalist explains:

The idea for “The Hurt & The Healer” came from several difficult experiences the band dealt with in 2011, particularly the death of my cousin, which was the source of great deal of grief. He was a firefighter killed in the line of duty and he was a friend of all the members of the band. His death was a moment of extreme pain for everybody. This song helped us to work through our grief. This particular song ended up as the title of the album as it encapsulated everything we went through. It was the first song we wrote for the album and it was a great way to start.

It was unique for all of us as a band as we were asked to play at the funeral for Bart’s cousin. We had to stand there in front of 3,000 firefighters and sing songs and encourage people and tell them how somehow God is in the middle of this. That is just as much a reminder for us because we tend to want to think that God is just part of things that feel good. God tells us that we will feel pain.

The song is a powerful reminder that God is present in our lives regardless of what we are feeling and going through.  Bart explains that the song reminds us how we just need a full-on collision with God, give Him everything that is in our hearts and minds.  That we need to stop acting like we have it altogether and cling on to His promises that one day there will be no more death, no more pain, and no more suffering.  And even if we understood things from God’s perspective, it wouldn’t take the pain away or make it any less but we know that He is faithful to heal.