Thinking about a worship song for this Wednesday has brought me to “A King Like No Other”. I have been dealing with the challenges of PTSD that has been exacerbated lately. My head swirls with intrusive thoughts and terrifying flashbacks of a really dark time during my adolescence. It has been hard to choose just the right song to express my gratitude to a Savior who gave up everything for me, me. Feeling so undeserving, unworthy, and tainted, why would the King of the Universe leave His throne to redeem ME? So many millions of His children have been ravaged by abuse, and I know it breaks His heart. It is much easier for me to have my heart break for others than for myself. As survivors we very often feel blame, that we are at fault for the things done to us. The abusers plan it that way when we are told we are bad, dirty, worthless, disgusting, all we are good for is sex. So while we can have compassion for the stories we hear from other victims, it is hard to stop the self-damning messages in our own brain.
Our perpetrators commanded their power over us to keep us in submission and keep our voices silent. The following song explains how the one true King of Kings and Lord of Lords did not come to this torn apart world as a powerful ruler ready to wield His sword. He came to this world in the weakest form, as an innocent baby to grow up among us. Emmanuel. God With Us. You and me. Despite what our history holds, He wants to hold us, He wants to redeem the abuse and give back the days the locusts destroyed. How can we not worship a King like that?
