By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

      By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North is an amazing song that has helped me through the toughest times of my life. This song is in the point of view of Jesus talking to His broken and hurt people who are looking elsewhere when they should seek Him. The first verse is Jesus asking why I'm crying, striving, trying to earn grace. He asks me not to turn away, but to let Him lift up my face. He asks why I'm searching for love, as if He isn't enough. This helped remind me to be careful not to turn away in the hard times. I won't find such amazing grace, comfort and love anywhere else than I will with Him.
     In the chorus, Jesus makes a promise that He will be by my side whenever I fall. Even when I call in the dead of night. He asks me to please not fight these Hands that are holding me. His hands are holding me. This helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid of falling. Because even if I fall, Jesus is right there by my side - arms ready to catch me. He won't let me fall, and He will never let me down. Even if everyone in this world has hurt me, left me, let me fall, Jesus is still here, and He isn't about to go anywhere else!
     In the second verse, Jesus reminds me that His hands, "swallowed the grave on that night when [He] drank the world's sin." Jesus did this to give me life. He did this for me, because He loves me, and that makes me so happy that He would do that out of choice!
     The simplest, yet maybe the most powerful (and my favorite) part of this song is the bridge: "'Cause I, I love you, I want you to know. That I, yeah I love you, I'll never let you go. No, no." Sometimes the best and most powerful way to tell somebody how much you care is to just say it plain, simple and gently. Jesus telling me in eight simple words that He loves me, and that He will never let me go, is very powerful to me. The music and the singers voice at this part of the song, also adds a lot to the meaning.
     By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North means so much to me. It's powerful, touching, beautiful and encouraging. It woke me up to never turn away from Jesus. He is, and always will be by my side to keep me company, to catch me when I fall, to guide me and love me.