Once upon a time we heard the music. When the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and He separated the light from the dark, when God gathered the waters in one place and made every living thing and breathed His breath into mankind, He spoke.
God created and then repeated what may have been the world’s first refrain: “It was good.” He created day after day and with each new creation this world and life as we know it became one, continuous, beautiful song. The Original Artist had begun orchestrating the symphony of all things and all creation joined in His refrain.
Once upon a time I heard the music. I know the song was pulsing through the room when I took my first breath. In the palpable rhythm of the hearts beating around my own, the humming of celebration and the sighs of joy, the music was playing and I joined in the song as the first notes of my new and tiny voice rang out. Yes, once upon a time I joined the music.
I can’t recall the moment I stopped hearing the music, but as I settled into early adulthood it was as if the signal had grown faint. I would occasionally hear a beautiful echo here and there in a sparrow’s morning call or in the laughter of a child, but it was as if the static of life had grown increasingly loud. As my ears became more attuned to the post-Eden sounds of busyness, homesickness and the injustice in the world, I began to long more and more for the ability to hear the orchestrated beauty I knew had been playing all along, running wild in our Father’s world. I wanted to hear the music again; the kind of music still pulsing through the created world singing the same refrain God spoke in Genesis chapter one: “it is good!” “WE are good!” because He made us…but most of all because He loves us.
And I wanted to join the music again. I wanted to experience the awe and wonder and joy of salvation and the gift of breath in my lungs and then tell my own God stories. I wanted to reclaim my seat at the celebration of life and sit underneath the beautiful chorus of the Gospel as it washed over me and over all things. I wanted to join in redemption’s song again and have the courage to play my part so bravely that the voices of fear and sorrow would be drowned out by the sounds of compassion, hope and love. I wanted these things so much that my heart could barely stand it and so I gathered my courage and prayed. My prayer was simply this: Dear God, teach me how to listen…again.
It’s my great joy to send this song out into the world as a soundtrack of celebration for those of us who need to be reminded that in the eyes of the Father we are loved, remembered and His. Psalm 145:9 tells us, “The LORD is good to all, and His mercy is over all that he has made.” The Master orchestrator of all things, all powerful, present and knowing, is also a loving Father who holds all creation and even us, together.
“We Are Your Song” is my unapologetic protest to the darkness, the sadness and the injustice of this world and I’m thrilled to rejoin all creation in singing “it is good!” to be known, to be loved and to be His.
Recently, I had the deeply moving experience of discovering the work of the International Justice Mission, which was a featured organization at an IF:Gathering Retreat where I led worship this spring. My heart was pierced as I listened to the way in which they champion the Gospel in so many countries. It’s my great joy and honor to have all of my proceeds from this single donated to furthering their worthy mission as they protest the darkness all around the world.
