Have you felt the ache of being left?
Perhaps an empty chair at the dinner table, an unanswered text, or a friend who drifted away when life got complicated. The feeling of being abandoned is a bitter one. Whether it was the high school date who left me to go hang out with her ex-boyfriend or the friend who said nothing when my character was attacked, I know the fear of asking the question, "Are you going to leave me too?"
Even Jesus faced this human question at the end of John 6, when the crowds walked away due to his hard teaching. Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, "Are you also going to leave?"
We now live in a world that glorifies embracing an exit strategy, where we’re tempted to only swipe left on relationships or ghost people rather than having difficult conversations. But what if there was Someone who never walked away, never grew distant, never loosened His grip?
Our God promises this kind of presence. Deuteronomy 31:6 announces, "For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
Zahriya Zachary trusts in that promise, and she wrote her song "Stay" as a declaration of faith in Him.
Zachary shared about the awareness behind the song in an interview with Jesus Freak Hideout. "I wrote 'Stay' as a song of reflection and coming to the realization of how near Jesus is. It is a waking to the knowing that He is in every single moment of my life. When I think about the way that Jesus stays with me in every season, I cannot help but give Him everything. This song has again and again brought me into the wonder of how I follow a God who is so patient, caring and ever present."
When Zachary sings of being "tethered" to God, she echoes David's declaration in Psalm 63:8: "I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely." This mutual holding, where we cling and He secures, appears throughout Scripture. David returns to this theme in Psalm 73:28: "But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do."
Paul spoke to the Athenians about how we find our life in connection to God's presence: "For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" Before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus promised this same enduring connection: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."
These verses from Scripture provide a foundation for the verses Zachary sings in "Stay." For those who have seen loved ones leave, the comfort and security provided by a God who stays cannot be quantified. Zachary sings about her sense of awe and wonder about how God relates to her in the chorus:
"So I will stay tethered to You, You close the space between us I am amazed at what You do, You love without condition"
That phrase "You love without condition" points us beyond God's actions to something even more profound: His very nature. We often get caught up in what God does. When we consider all of God's marvelous and miraculous actions, it's no wonder that we focus on his past deeds. But what's even greater than God's actions is God's character. Zachary shared a few thoughts with Air1 about her view of who God is.
"My Father's innate nature is to be steady and secure. He has taught me what it means to be a woman who stays... The more aware I've become of His consistency, the more I have healed and feel safe to return; to stay."
Everywhere we turn today, we're offered some sort of healing. But the kind of healing that "Stay" describes is greater than anything you can receive in the mail. The consistency of God lets us know we're safe, secure, and strongly held in His grip. He stays with us, offering us a love we cannot find anywhere else. In response, Zachary's song becomes her own declaration: she too will stay. Each time she sings these words, she's not just describing God's faithfulness; she's answering it with a commitment of her own, choosing to remain tethered to the One who never lets go.
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker with the best last name in the world. Scott loves to help discouraged and disoriented people find hope and healing. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and loves family movie nights with his wife and three kids. You can begin Scott’s life-changing project, The 21 Day Gratitude Challenge, today.
