Epic is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on this song. One of the definitions of epic is heroic, majestic and impressively great. I believe “You Hold Me Now” is an epic song in that it points to the I need You (Jesus) now part of our individual earthly journeys and the forever love story between the Lord and His Bride the church. It touches the “here and now” and the “forever and always” all at the same time!

Awesomely epic.

During the intro, while the piano ushers in the song, I can easily imagine the Lord taking His Bride up into His arms at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. As we are sharing that first dance together reunited as One, She (we) sing(s):

On that day when I see
All that You have for me
When I see You face to face
There surrounded by Your grace

All my fears swept away
In the light of your embrace
Where Your love is all I need
And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold
In Your presence healed and whole
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

So I am imagining this heavenly dance and my spirit is yearning and longing to be with Christ right here right now. As I sing along with the song and we get to the point of singing “… let the songs of heaven rise to you alone!” the voices build and the notes soar to Him alone. And in that moment the yearning turns into communion and He is right here right now. His Spirit comforts my heart cry as He holds my soul close. I know He will never let me go.

I think this song effectively ministers to the personal walk of the believer before we get to heaven because it inspires the eternal Hope set before us. An incorruptible hope that never fails. Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

You hold me now echoes this scripture:

In this life I will stand
Through my joy and my pain
Knowing there’s a greater day
There’s a hope that never fails

Where Your name is lifted high
And forever praises rise
For the glory of Your Name
I’m believing for the day

After reading Dr. Hugh Ross’ books, The Creator and The Cosmos and Beyond The Cosmos, I became a firm believer that eternity doesn’t start when earthly clocks stop. In fact eternity is an all encompassing “now.” All points of linear time are present to the Lord. So when I am blessed with pure joy by the countenance of a completely thrilled little one year old playing with a water bottle or I am weeping at my desk for a friend battling cancer, in both moments I can and will give praise to God. I do so knowing that hope never fails, never shames and is poured abundantly into our hearts because I don’t believe that we were created for worry and despair. In Christ we can lift His name today and it will resound for eternity.

Not only does this song affirm the personal journey, it affirms that Christ, who is our Prince of Peace, will bring all of creation into His rest.

Where the wars and violence cease
All creation lives in peace
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

For eternity
All my heart will give
All the glory to Your name

Mankind was created for perfection. I believe our souls hear the echo of the closing gates of Eden and we mourn. We may not know why but we yearn for harmony and unity and are tempted to worry and despair as we watch human defined systems clash and war with one another.

I do not believe in a collective consciousness but I do believe that there is a collective awareness that something isn’t quite right with this world and that is why you see so man various systems of belief in the meaning of life and our transcendent yearnings. Jesus came to set all thing rightly and one day all will see and all will declare Him as Lord.

In another part of the song the worship leader takes a proverbial step back to allow the assembly to sing. At the end of the song there is a time of spontaneous personal prayer and song as they transition into the next song. These two moments reminded me of an important step in my own understanding of the magnificence of God’s willingness and ability to commune with us.

During my early years as a Christian, worship conferences were my main source of sustenance. I’ll never forget that the week before I attended a really big worship conference, I was marveling over the scripture that said His (Our Heavenly Father’s) voice being like “many waters.” I was like, “If it was like many waters it wouldn’t make sense?” Then at this worship time the crowd just started praising His name and it turned into this building roar of love and praise. I imagined the Lord responding to each individual person, “I love you too!” “Stay strong…” “My grace IS sufficient …” and responding to each and every prayer, song, praise being brought forth in this spontaneous eruption of worship.

Then it hit me that while each individual voice rang clear and true but being said all at at the same time with everyone else in the assembly, it literally sounded like rushing water. The Lord’s ability to respond to each and every voice at that one moment is why His voice sounds like many waters, this rushing of love and praise was being reciprocated by the One who can reciprocate on such a scale. His voice of many waters is heard clearly as individuals and received corporately by The Body. His voice comes as a torrent of atonement, love and peace to a world crying out to him.

I tend to love it when worship leaders “step back” and allow the assembly to sing or flow into spontaneous worship and praise … now you know why.

So, You Hold Me Now is an affirmation of the Glory due the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an affirmation of abiding in Him while in our imperfect present. It is also embracing the transcendent nature of the Hope that only He can provide. This song is an affirmation of the Bride coming Home to her Bridegroom and of the personal and corporate nature of worship. This song reminds us of the hope for not only Jesus’ reign in our hearts but His future reign of peace over the earth.