"You Are My Peace" - Inhabited

Song: You Are My Peace

Artist: Inhabited

Album: The Revolution

So, a buddy of mine from work passed away recently.  As I was driving to his memorial service, this is the song that rose up in me.  I wanted to share it with you.

I've always enjoyed Inhabited's music, and they deserve more recognition than I'm giving them here. Given the circumstances and the inspiration behind this post, though, I'm going to keep it to this.  Please enjoy the song, and I hope it helps you find peace in whatever situation you are dealing with right now:

"Like You Promised" - Amber Brooks

We've all been there: those times in life when we feel distant from God, or that He's somehow afar off.  We're desperate, we're longing; we feel like something's missing, like the passion is gone, like God's presence is not as real as it once was.  Yes, we've all been there, but it's good to know that in the midst of what seem like the darkest and driest of times, God is always faithful to answer when we call.  Today, we highlight such a cry of desperation: "Like You Promised" by Amber Brooks.

Now, the one thing that we have to remember when petitioning God in times like this is to keep it simple, and Amber does just that with this powerful worship song.  The worshipper starts out asking God to come and "stir the stagnant waters."  Yep, that's pretty much what we need right about now.  Amber even addresses keeping the request simple: "I don't have all the right words to provoke You to want me."  Yes, Lord; I'm at a place where I don't know what else to say, except that I need You, and more of You, right now.  And so we have the chorus:

Won't you come, come like you promised
Pour out your Spirit, pour out your Spirit.

In coming the bridge, the worshipper is able to put themselves in remembrance of how much God loves them ("You love like a father,") and even the intensity with which He loves us ("fierce like no other.")

All it all, it's a simple song, but when it comes to those dry times of the soul, that's what we need as worshippers; we need to be able to just cry out to God and demonstrate how we long for Him, and then allow Him to come and fill us up as he so faithfully does.  "Like You Promised" serves as a wonderful reminder of what Psalm 139 tells us:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me. - Psalm 139:7-10 (NKJV)

I hope you enjoy "Like You Promised," and I hope that it can help you or someone you know through a time of desperation and longing.

You can listen to "Like You Promised" on the YouTube video below:




Stay tuned!  On our next feature, we'll play one of my favorite games: "Guess That Group's Next Big Single."  We'll be featuring the music of Anberlin.

As always, thanks for checking out Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

"Falling In Love" - Falling Up

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a special day for me; I'm about to tell you about one of the biggest influences behind my starting Christian Music Discovery: Falling Up's powerful worship offering, "Falling In Love," from their debut album, "Crashings."  This story takes a little time:

I remember being in the offices of my church just after having started college, and the girl that was interning for the youth minister and I were discussing the "Crashings" album.  "Broken Heart" was a huge radio success, and Falling Up was quickly establishing itself as a new force in Christian music.  As we were talking, she said to me, "Have you listened to track ten yet?"  I replied, "No, I haven't."  She insisted that I do so as soon as possible.

I am eternally grateful that she did.

As I sat and listened to the song, I was immediately drawn in by the intricate opening set up by the guitar and drums (BTW, Josh is one of the best drummers in Christian music, hands down.)  And then, the lyrics came: "You are my one true love."  Is there any better way to describe God? 

As I continued to listen, and the music continued to draw me in, almost into a worshipful trance, the chorus came, and I was launched into the words "All of my dreams and my passions are in your hands."  This was the point at which "Falling In Love" began to change me.

You see, at the time, due to some certain circumstances, I was having trouble understanding what God's will for my life was in the long run.  I had so many things that I wanted to do, but I didn't know which of them were God's plans and which of them were mine.  This song gave me such a peace about letting go, and letting God.  It took me back to what Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12 - " . . . I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."  I could place all my plans and dreams in His hands, and know that he would hold them for the appointed time. 

At the time, it astounded me that such a masterpiece of Christian music was so widely unheard of; I kept waiting for them to release it as a single, so that others could partake of the powerful ministry given through this song, but it never happened, and so came Falling Up's next album.  This contributed to my eventually starting Christian Music Discovery: I wanted to make sure that people knew that songs like "Falling in Love" were out there, waiting to be heard.

I'm thankful that, after several years now, "Falling In Love" has become one of Falling Up's most popular songs (it's one of the bestsellers on their greatest hits album according to iTunes, and the most popular YouTube video of theirs by far,)  but I wanted to go ahead and share this song with you anyway, because I really feel that as many people as possible need to hear and know this work.

Now, I could go on and on about the intricacies of the music, the dynamic shifts in rythym and progression, the power of the lyrics, and the emotional evocation that the whole song brings, but when all is said and done, the only thing that can really do justice to "Falling In Love" is to say this:  it is absolutely Falling Up's best track ever, and one of the greatest and most under-appreciated peices of Christian music of all time. You need only hear it to know.

That being said, you can listen to "Falling In Love" on the YouTube video below:




I hope you enjoy "Falling In Love," and stay tuned for more great music from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music.