A Hymn for Those Suffering Loss

Help families rebuild after the wildfires by giving to Samaritan's Purse here.

My heart and prayers go out to those who are suffering from the fires in Los Angeles and I know yours do, too. Perhaps you are even one of those suffering that particular loss right now or another kind of loss.

While sometimes it may be difficult to find a familiar hymn that is pure lament, there is a hymn that reminds us we can always bring our burdens and our cries for help to Someone who cares more deeply than anyone else ever can:

Does Jesus Care

by Frank Graeff, 1860-1919

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth and song;
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain:
O yes, He cares: I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Saviour cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near? 

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief I find no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long? 

Does Jesus care when I’ve said "goodbye"
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Franklin Graeff was a popular Methodist minister from the turn of the 20th century and was known for being a circuit riding preacher and then a local pastor in Pennsylvania, a poet, hymn writer, novelist and also for having a special gift for teaching children about Jesus.

By the time he wrote "Does Jesus Care" in 1901, Reverend Graff had lost two-thirds of his immediate family, including both his parents and three of his siblings. He was just forty years old.