You Will Be Found

The next entry for my Blog is You Will Be Found, which was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.  It was first released December 16, 2022.  A link to Natalie Grant and Cory Asbury singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

You Will Be Found

Have you ever felt like nobody was there?
Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt like you could disappear?
Like you could fall, and no one would hear?

So let that lonely feeling wash away
Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay
‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand
Well, you can reach, reach out your hand

And oh, someone will come running
And I know, they’ll take you home

Even when the dark comes crashing through
When you need a friend to carry you
And when you’re broken on the ground
You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in
‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
Lift your head and look around
You will be found
Yeah, you will be found
Ooh (hmm)

There’s a place where we don’t have to feel unknown
And every time you call out, you’re a little less alone
And oh, if you only say the word, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
From across the silence, your voice is heard, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Even when the dark comes crashing through
When you need a friend to carry you
And when you’re broken on the ground
You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in
‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
If you’ll only look around (look around)
You will be found (you will be found)
You will be found, yeah, yeah

Out of the shadows (out of the shadows)
The morning is breaking (the morning is breaking)
All is new (everything is new)
Yeah, all is new (everything is new)
It’s filling up the empty
And suddenly, I see that (and suddenly, I see)
Everything is new, hmm

Even when the dark comes crashing through
And when you need a friend to carry you
And when you’re broken on the ground
You will be found
So when the sun comes streaming in
You’ll reach up and you’ll rise again
If you’ll only look around
You will be found

This is such a powerful song that reflects experiences that most of us have probably encountered at some point during our lives, even for only a brief period of time.  As I listened to this song a few times in preparation for this entry, I started thinking about experiences I may have had, those I have heard about, or perhaps those I have witnessed.  Take a moment to think about a time in your life when you felt as if you were all alone and that no one cared about you.  It was a time when you may have truly believed that no one really loved you or wanted to be with you.  For many people, these are feelings they have had in the past, or perhaps are having today as they are reading about this song.  It is almost as if you enter into a bad dream of being all alone in the middle of nowhere and then you start to believe it is all true.  You start thinking about whether or not people would even know you have disappeared.  The thoughts like this continue to overwhelm and totally consume someone as they fall deeper into the bit of depression and despair.  I believe the most descriptive example I can come up with is being stranded on a small deserted island all alone with no hope.  I know there are many comics that depict this setting, but this is a real issue for many people.  You truly feel as if no one really cares about you and would never miss you if you disappeared.

At some point, people give up all hope and fall to their knees in despair.  This is perhaps the lowest point in someone’s life and the song states we just need to raise up our hand and know that it will be taken by the hand of God.  He is always watching over us and is always there to help us in times of need.  He doesn’t force us to do things, but once we turn to him and ask for this help; he grabs our outstretched hand and begins to bring us peace, love, and comfort.  It doesn’t mean all of our problems go away, but it does mean that we do not have to face our problems alone.  He is the ship that will rescue you from the island of despair and help bring love, joy, and hope back into your life.  Once you have God in your heart and holding your hand, you can be lifted out of the deepest darkest pit or the smallest deserted island.  He is the friend that perhaps you never had, a true friend you can depend on at all times.  There are times when you have fallen flat on your face into a world of hopelessness, but he reaches down and brings you into his arms.  He brings the sunshine back into your life and regardless of where you fall down or how often you fall down, he is there to put you back on your feet and fill you with hope.  We can find the comfort we seek in the parable of the lost sheep in the book of Luke 15:3-7.  “And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

We are the sheep that God protects and he never wants us to be alone and he doesn’t want us to be lonely, depressed, or discouraged.  He knows we will have dark times in our lives and that we will stumble and fall in our lives, but he wants us to know that he is always there to bring light into our lives and always has his hand extended out to each of us.  When you see that bright ray of sunshine breaking through the deep dark clouds, that is when you know God is there.  The darkness of this world will continue to try and overcome us, but nothing can overcome the love and light that God brings.  The more we call out to him, the less lonely we become, and the stronger we become as we face each and every day.  We are never out of his sight, he is always there with us.  He alone can lift us out of loneliness, addiction, despair.

Does this song describe the world you may be living in?  If so, it is time for you to turn to God for hope, love, and direction in your life.  You need to find a supportive church, you need to develop true friendships, and you may need to seek medical guidance.  Just know that God will be with you every step of the way and will pick you up whenever life fails you.  God doesn’t have to find you, he is there beside you.  He promises us this in the book of Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 Select to Hear Natalie Grant and Cory Asbury Sing You Will Be Found

Truth be Told

The next entry for my Truth be Told, which was written by Matthew West and Andrew Pruis.  It was first released October 18, 2019.  A link to Matthew West singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.


Lie number one you’re supposed to have it all together
And when they ask how you’re doing
Just smile and tell them, “Never better”

Lie number 2 everybody’s life is perfect except yours
So keep your messes and your wounds
And your secrets safe with you behind closed doors

Truth be told
The truth is rarely told, now

I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

There’s a sign on the door, says, “Come as you are” but I doubt it
‘Cause if we lived like it was true, every Sunday morning pew would be crowded
But didn’t you say the church should look more like a hospital
A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the scarred and the prodigals
Like me

Well truth be told
The truth is rarely told
Oh am I the only one who says

I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

Can I really stand here unashamed
Knowin’ that you love for me won’t change?
Oh God if that’s really true
Then let the truth be told

I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
Yeah I know

There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

This is a very thought-provoking song.  It directly challenges the honesty of each of us.  I think most of us are likely to get offended when someone tells us we are not being honest, but in this case; I believe the writers are telling the truth about all of us.  When someone asks you how you are doing today, what is your typical answer?  Maybe we say I am fine, life is wonderful, never been better, and these types of responses seem never-ending.  Why are we so reluctant to be completely honest with everyone?  I know there is a litany of reasons, but I think the main reason is we just really don’t want to talk about it.  We believe our problems are our problems and no one else needs to know about them.  We basically put on our false façade and go on with our lives.

We are also of the opinion that everyone else’s life seems to be perfect, at least the piece of their lives that we see.   Our view is that they don’t need to know what we are going through.  Why do we take this approach?  Maybe deep inside we are envious that their lives seem so perfect and we believe our lives are a mess when compared to theirs.  So, once again we put up our façade and life goes on.  We many times struggle to tell the truth to our friends and our family, even though they are perhaps the people who can help us the most.  As I listened to the words of this song, it was a very sobering moment for me.  I understand not wanting to share every intimate detail of our lives and also believing that my issues are my own and no one else’s business, but this mentality only hurts us more.   Friends are actually our family in so many ways and they are the ones who are willing to listen to us, help us when they can, and not be judgmental.  If your friends can’t meet these qualities, perhaps you need to evaluate the people in your life that you call friends.  These are the people who love you and are not there to judge you, but are there to lift you up whenever you fall.  I can understand that opening your heart and soul to true friends is a real challenge, it requires us to let our guard down in order to share our hurts.  It requires us to let things go and realize that our friends are there to help us carry our burdens and give us the love and support we need.

With all of the comfort that our friends can offer, they still come short of giving the true inner peace that only God can provide.  He is really the first place we should turn.  It is great to have friends we can talk to who know us and care about us, but the true inner peace we are looking for can only come from God.  He is the only one who truly knows our heart and our soul and is perhaps the only one who casts no judgement upon us.  He is also the only one who can give us an eternal life of joy and happiness and unconditional love.  He created us, he knows us, and all he asks of us is to accept his son Jesus as our personal savior.  Once we accept Jesus, we are guaranteed that one day we will live in complete peace and harmony that far exceeds anything in our dreams.  He is also the one who puts friends and loved ones in our lives so that we will have people who love us and want us to be happy and free from sadness and pain.  Another positive in accepting Jesus as our personal savior is that we are then indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is there to help bring us peace and help us to feel the love of God within us.  Philippians 4:6-7 tells us we should not worry about anything and to put everything in God’s hands, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Maybe, one of the most disturbing thoughts in the lyrics, is the reference to “come as you are.”  I believe there are some places you can go and no one cares how you look, the status of your clothes, or even perhaps your cleanliness.  There are various entities that truly do reach out to many people that perhaps some churches may reject.  Is it really true that churches are sometimes not the welcoming place you would expect them to be?  If you attend a church today, and I hope that you do, I sincerely hope that your church has its doors open to all.  Just like God accepts us as we are, we should let people come into our church who are seeking help.  Maybe they are wearing ragged clothes, maybe they are unkempt, and maybe they know nothing about Jesus; are they still welcome?  Jesus judges us by our hearts and not our appearance, his arms are open to everyone at all times.  This is reinforced in perhaps one of the most quoted scriptures, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   God let his only son die on the cross for us so that we would have a path to heaven.  Once we accept Jesus as our personal savior, our past is gone and forgotten by God.  So if our church is based on the gift of Jesus dying on the cross for all of our iniquities, shouldn’t our churches welcome all who wish to come in?

So, there are perhaps things we don’t want to share with our friends, and that is perfectly fine; but we still need someone we can talk to about everything going on in our lives.  Jesus is there to listen to our words and our inner spirit, to wrap his arms around us, and to love us unconditionally.  Truth be told, there is no one else but him who can truly listen, understand, love, and judge.

When is the last time you took the time to share your heart with Jesus and bared your soul to him?  Let the truth be told.

Click to hear Matthew West sing Truth Be Told