Heart of Worship Tuesday: Oceans

In the past few years, a song has touched me like no other. It began as a contemporary worship song penned by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligtelm.

The story behind this song is simply that it is based on the story of Peter in the New Testament walking on the water to Jesus. (Matt. 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-56, John 6:16-24.)

The song contains these words:

You call me out upon the water
The great unknown, where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep, my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours, and You are Mine.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fears surround me
You never fail and You won't start now

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours, and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my faith could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior

This song describes the call from God to us to step out in absolute faith. He asks things of us that seem terrifying and impossible at times. Peter asked Jesus if he could come to Him on the water, and Jesus told him to do so. Peter, in absolute faith, stepped onto the water and began to walk! A mere man walked on water!

Granted, he did fall when he took his eyes off of Jesus. But, that is life; yet Peter still had faith that Jesus would save him, which is why he cried out to Him to do so. When we fall, that is EXACTLY what we should do: cry out to Jesus! The song itself is a resolve to choose to keep their "eyes above the waves" and stay focused on Christ. It is to trust that He will never lead us wrong, no matter where it goes.

Then, the song asks the spirit to "lead me where my trust is without borders". This is the kind of faith we should have. Borders denote limits, or even fear. True, fruit producing faith in Christ breaks down these limits and fears we have. As human beings, we often think that we are unable to do something that God asks of us. With God, there is nothing we cannot do, and nothing is impossible. We just have to take a deep breath and let go, and tell God that we will submit to whatever His will is. He knows better than we do, and His plan is so great and vast like the ocean. We just have to walk it and keep our eyes on Him the best that we can.

"What is impossible for man, is possible for God."- Luke 18:27

"...For Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like the grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'move from here to there', and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."-Matthew 17:20

Heart of Worship Tuesday: Because He Lives

This has to be one of my absolute favorite hymns ever written.  So, I had to know the story behind it.

William and Gloria Gaither wrote this song in the late 1960s. Around this time, they were pregnant with their third child. This was a troubling time for them. Gloria was dealing with mononucleosis. She also feared bringing a child into the world with the immorality taking hold.

Then, one night on New Year’s Eve, she sat in her living room, and her emotions of fear consumed her. Then very suddenly, she was filled with a calming peace. She realized in that moment, that God was going to work everything out and that everything would be okay. She chose to leave the future in God’s hands.

Remembering how the Holy Spirit had come to comfort them, they wrote this song after their child was born.

This is the first verse and chorus:

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus

He came to love, heal and forgive

He lived and died to buy my pardon

An empty grave is there to prove my savior lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living, just because He lives

The first verse is a powerful testament to the belief of the christian, and why we believe. And it makes sense that during a time of turmoil,  we trust so deeply in the fact that because our Savior is risen. It is all because He suffered and died for us, we have that hope. Because of that simple fact, we have hope for tomorrow, and for eternity.

Matthew 6:25-34 says,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Here are the next two verses of the song:

How sweet to hold a newborn baby

To feel the pride and joy he gives

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He lives

And then one day I’ll cross that river

I’ll fight life’s final war with pain

And then as death gives way to vict’ry

I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives

When we are born, or when we are on our deathbed, we can face whatever may come because He is there. We have the hope of heaven, and the the knowledge that He will take care of us no matter what. There will be times that we will suffer (Matthew 5:45, 1 Peter 4:12). Yet, because of Christ, we have no reason to lose hope in spite of those trials.

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1. http://www.staugustine.com/living/religion/2015-01-29/story-behind-song-because-he-lives