Have you ever heard a song.....

Have you ever heard a song and the lyrics just hit you?

It’s great to just listen to the words as they are sung but you may not catch the full meaning until later when you listen to it again and again or you look up the lyrics and sing along to it. You add the song to one or two playlists on Spotify and listen to it a few times a day and even after months the song still speaks to you; it MOVES you. You bring it up when you’re talking about songs you’re currently listening to or when someone asks about the music you love. You may not even be a big fan of the band or artist that sings the song but you hear the song and just think “wow”.

This is not the song but Kelly Clarkson’s newest album (Meaning of Life) there’s a line in her song called “Move You” that says

“When  a lyric really gets you, and it breaks you down inside”

Back in the spring of this year (2018) I heard a song just like that. I heard this particular song one Sunday at church. I had never heard it or heard of it even though it came out in June 2017. I always love hearing new worship songs and catching on mid song to the lyrics and melody and just falling in love with the words. Just listening to one of our women on the worship team sing the lyrics just was beyond amazing. She brought life to the song. The words just hit me. I may not have cried in the moment but later on when I heard it again in my car on the way home I’m pretty sure there were tears.

The song has a title that makes sense but until you actually listen to the song you can’t really grasp why I would choose this song. The lyrics explain it all.

On a sort of related note.

For the last twenty or so years I have really had a passion for music. Music has always been an escape for me. It has been a way for me to express myself. I used it as an outlet when I was made fun of or being called names. Music became the person I wanted to become, I wanted to “do” music as a career and really thought at one point that God was leading me in that direction full time. I had my plans, I wrote my songs, I recorded them. Let me tell you listening to them now makes me laugh a little bit because the songs are really cheesy however the heart behind them was genuine. That’s all a part of the writing and growing process.

Because of music I have been able to overcome things like people making fun of me, and even my own insecurities about my weight and my confidence in who I am. I learned to listen to music not because of a beat or the artist singing/performing the song but really “listen” to it. Learn to appreciate the meaning behind the lyrics. I wonder often times when someone writes lyrics or pens a melody if they mean what they intend or if they just write them for the sake of writing; whether that is a song on the top forty or a worship song that plays on Christian radio or in the local church.

I feel like there’s more behind the scenes of writing a song than most people think or even realize, That’s exactly what this song did for me. Even while writing this blog post I did some research and watched a video by the band talking about the song and how it came to them and the writing process. I heard the heart, I felt the passion that went into writing this amazing song. Whenever I see that we are singing this song I get goosebumps and I get anxious waiting to sing along to these beautifully penned words, the words written by God through the people who put it on paper and put those words to music.

It MOVES me. It inspires me. It reminds me of my purpose and why music has been such an important aspect in my life!

Through this song and a sermon that was preached at our church about serving in the church as well as a series of conversations I had with a fellow volunteer who could see my passion for music by just watching how I engage in worship I was reminded of one of the things I love the most: Singing and music. That last part was definitely a God thing because the other volunteer doesn’t know me very well. Singing worship and being a part of that worship team at church is something that I haven’t done in close to ten years I missed being a part of that. Completely different topic but it does revolve around this song.

So you want to know what the song is?

I’m not there yet.

This song discusses what it means for us to worship our Creator. God put everything in order, created it all not as a boastful thing; but like an artist paints a beautiful painting or an author writes a love story that catches the hearts of many or even that song that was written as a love song to a Savior who created this person for the purpose of loving Him and loving other people. How could we not look around us and not be in awe and wonder of the Artist who designed it all?  

The song talks about how God created all of creation as an act of love and as a way for us to see it and recognize Him in nature and science. The stars placed perfectly and the planets aligned and even where the oceans begin and end. When we look around at rocks or trees it’s not the only thing he created, each person on the planet Earth. All seven plus billion & counting are works of God. EVERY PERSON. EVERY ROCK. EVERY STAR. Everything was created by Him and everything we see is a work of art called love.

So the bridge in the songs says this:

if the stars were made to worship so will I.

If the mountains bow in reverence so will I.

If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I.

For if everything exists to lift You high so will I.

If the wind goes where You send it so will I.

If the rocks cry out in silence so will I.

If the sum of all our praises still falls shy

Then we’ll sing again a hunger billion times

The song goes on saying that If Jesus chose surrender to save us from the sins of the world then we should also gladly choose surrender to love the billions of people in this world.

The song, if you haven’t already guessed

SO WILL I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong United

This song has many layers but the part that really stuck with me was “If the stars were made to worship so will I.” I just couldn’t get those lyrics out of my head. Why did they stick with me and resonate with me way more than the others. Why did those words mean so much to me? I truly believe in divine intervention. God wanted those words to stick with me, to remind me of a love of music and worship and rekindle my love for singing for Him. Wow. I can’t even type the feelings that i felt hearing those words, how the hairs stood up on my neck and  how I just couldn’t fully grasp the words immediately but those words just meant so much more to me than I ever thought they could.

Those last three words of each of the lines in the bridge, the title of the song SO WILL I have just stuck with me over the last few months. Everyday for the last few months I have literally sung those words or thought them in my head almost as a prayer. It has been a constant reminder that I am not a man of this world but I am here to show God’s glory to sing praises much like the stars. So if the stars were made to worship: SO WILL I.

Because of these words that are simple and may mean more to me than to others I wanted to find a way to express that prayer out loud and as a daily reminder for myself and find a way for others to keep me accountable for this. How can I do that without having to explain it all; which in all honesty I don't mind talking about the song and why I love it so much.

Each time those words have been uttered, thought or sang I cannot begin to tell you the emotions it brings up. It’s not a passing or fleeting thought, it’s not “just another catchphrase” it is a life, it is a choice to gladly choose surrender, to worship and thank our Creator for all the things he has done? How can I express this silently but also loudly? What can I do that I will say “SO WILL I”

Could i put it on a t-shirt, paint it on a canvas, write it on everything? I could do these each, or all. I could do more. I wanted more, I wanted something that I could take with me everywhere I go, someway to show my commitment to those lines

“If the stars were made to worship so will I.”

This is how….

A permanent, daily reminder. A tattoo.