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

He Was There All the Time

The next entry for my Blog is He Was There All the Time, which was written by Gary Paxton and released in 1980. A link to the Blackwood Brothers performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

He Was There All the Time

Time after time I went searching for peace in some void
I was trying to blame
All my ills on this world I was in
Surface relationships used me ’til I was done in
And all of the while someone was begging to free me from sin

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

Never again Will I look for a fake rainbow’s end
Now that I have the answer My life is just starting to rhyme
Sharing each new day with Him Is a cup of fresh wine
And oh what I missed, He’s been waiting right there all the time

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

When you believe you are on the verge of depression or just ready to give up on everybody and everything, what do you do? I am sure there are days where you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head, perhaps you feel as if you want to crawl under a rock and hide from the world, and some people just wish they could just end it all. Maybe you have these bad times and turn to alcohol, or food, or even drugs. The end result is that none of the above brings forever happiness. Some of the options I listed perhaps bring some temporary relief, but all of the issues causing your negative feelings are still there. The sad part is we get into a vicious spiral that takes us down to rock bottom and we have a tendency to stay there.

While in this period of darkness in our lives, we try to blame anyone and everyone for the situation we are in. We want the blame to fall on someone else so we can shift the anger to that person, those people, or that thing. Maybe you start thinking you are too old, too big, too small, of the wrong race, of the wrong nationality, your friends are to blame, your parents are to blame……… We depend on other people so much in our lives, and inevitably they let us down. Some let us down unintentionally, although the pain is real, and we discover that some people were not the people we thought they were.

I believe all of us have misery in our lives and just don’t know where to turn. The problem is that we explore every option to eliminate our unhappiness, and maybe then we turn to Jesus. As the song says, Jesus is always there; he has his hand out and is always asking you, begging you, to dedicate your life to him. Although the things and people around us may let us down, we are told in Hebrews 13:5 that “God will never leave us nor forsake us.” In Matthew 28:20, Jesus tells us “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” So, the real problem is we try to solve all of our issues on our own or rely on those arounds us, but no one has the answers you seek except our Lord and Savior. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts and take his hand so he can lead us through the darkness we are facing. He has always been there and will always be there and there is no end to his patience. No matter how stubborn we are, or how much we turn our backs on him, he patiently stands before us with open arms.

As we go about our lives, we endure a lot of rainbows that promise a pot of gold, but seldom does it work that way. We all have hopes and dreams, and sometimes they do come true, but too many times they do not because we try to be successful on our own. Think of how life could be if we walked in lockstep with our Savior toward our hopes and dreams. By being in step with Jesus, we will be marching toward goals he helped us to set as opposed to goals we set on our own. By being in collaboration with Jesus, we will never face that false rainbow again because we will be doing what he wants us to do, and by accepting Christ as our Savior we have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is eternal life.

We need to begin each day communicating with our Savior, walk with him every day, and then end our day still talking with him. If we don’t walk with him and talk with him, how can we understand what his plans are for us today and for eternity? Does your faith lie more with your friends, your family, your possessions; or does it lie in the hands of Jesus? Imagine starting and ending every day with Jesus on your mind and in your heart, allowing him to bring some peace to you as your day ends and the next day begins. Having Christ with you doesn’t mean that you will no longer have struggles and challenges in your life or that everyday is going to be a great day, but it does mean that you will never face your world alone. Even though we face this darkness in our earthly life; Christ has promised us an eternity of peace and joy once we reach our heavenly home.

He is there all the time, just waiting for you.

Click to Hear the Blackwood Brothers Perform He Was There All the Time