Out of the Dust · Track 6
A Redeemed Country song for anyone missing someone who walked with the Lord
The question behind the song
How do I grieve someone I never got to say goodbye to? With hope. For those who die in Christ, goodbye isn't the end. The words we didn't get to say are waiting for the day we meet again at home.
On every major streaming service. Spotify · Buy the song
The believers in Thessalonica were grieving brothers and sisters in Christ who had died, and wondering what had become of them. Paul doesn't tell them not to grieve. He tells them how a believer grieves: with hope, because those who sleep in Jesus will be with Him.
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him… and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
1 Thessalonians 4:13–14, 16–18For the believer, to leave this body is to be with Christ, the face the song longs to hear about:
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
2 Corinthians 5:8And the body that failed will be raised and made new, able to speak and walk again:
"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…"
Philippians 3:20–21Grandma was the one who taught me who Jesus was, long before I understood it myself. Her smile filled every room. She'd talk about her family with pride, but when she talked about Jesus, there were tears in her eyes. She loved telling me about the “good ol' days,” the moves of God she had seen with her own eyes.
I grew up in an unstable home, and on weekends my sister and I always begged to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandma would say she'd love that, but we had to promise to go to church with her on Sunday. So we did, week after week. Because she insisted, I was in church the night a missionary came to speak, and that night the Lord saved me.
In her last years, she was in a nursing home. Then the pandemic came, and visits were limited to almost nothing. She passed away in 2021.
Everything in this song really happened, except one part. In the song, I lean in close and whisper to her: “Grandma, one of these days you're going to tell me about the time you saw His face.” I never got to say those words to her. The pandemic took that chance away. That verse is what I would have said if I could have.
But here's the hope I hold on to: those words aren't lost. They're just waiting. One day, she really will tell me about the time she saw His face, and she'll show me around heaven when we meet at home.
Many families lost someone during the pandemic without being able to visit, hold a hand, or say a final word. Others simply ran out of time: a sudden death, a long distance, a moment that never came. That kind of grief carries extra weight, the regret of what was left unsaid.
Scripture doesn't erase the sorrow. Jesus Himself wept at the grave of His friend (John 11:35). But for those who die in the Lord, the story isn't over: “them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
This song also honors the people who carried the faith to us: the grandparent who took us to church, the one whose prayers we never knew about. Their faithfulness is still bearing fruit.
The hope on this page belongs to those who are in Christ. If you're grieving someone who loved the Lord, but you've never trusted Him yourself, that hope isn't yours yet. It can be today.
A jailer in Philippi asked the most important question anyone can ask, and he got a straight answer:
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Acts 16:30–31Repent of your sin, turn away from it, and put your faith and trust for salvation in Christ alone, who died for your sins and rose again. That is how you can see them again.
Tell me about the time when you saw His face
Tell me about all of His glory and grace
Tell me about the mansions and the streets of gold
Tell me about the crystal sea and the shores of old
Tell me about the angels and the splendid throne
Show me around heaven when we meet at home
For personal study, a small group, or Biblical Counseling. Listen to the song, read 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, then work through these questions.
John 11:25–26 · John 14:1–3 · Revelation 21:4 · Psalm 116:15
Hear the full song at MaverickATC.com/songs/grandmas-joy · Maverick at the Cross
Questions
What does the Bible say about grieving a loved one?
Grief is real, and Scripture makes room for it. Jesus wept at His friend's tomb (John 11:35). But believers grieve with hope: “that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Will I see my loved ones in heaven?
For those who are in Christ, Scripture points to a reunion: “them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14), “and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
How do I cope with not getting to say goodbye?
Bring the regret to the Lord honestly, and hold on to the hope of the resurrection. For those who die in Christ, goodbye is not final: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Is there a Christian song about a grandmother's faith?
Yes. “Grandma's Joy” is a Redeemed Country song about a grandmother who passed her faith on, and the hope of seeing her again in heaven.
Where can I listen to “Grandma's Joy”?
“Grandma's Joy” is track 6 on the album Out of the Dust. It's on every major streaming service, and the full lyric video is on YouTube.
Grandma's Joy is one stop on Out of the Dust, one redemption story from the first encounter with Jesus to the final victory.