Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

The next entry for my Blog is Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, which was written by Bernie Herms, Matthew West, and Randy Phillips.  The song was initially released January 8, 2016.  A link to Danny Gokey performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

You’re shattered
Like you’ve never been before
The life you knew
In a thousand pieces on the floor
And words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you’re never gonna get back
To the you that used to be

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again

Beginning
Just let that word wash over you
It’s alright now
Love’s healing hands have pulled you through
So get back up, take step one
Leave the darkness, feel the sun
‘Cause your story’s far from over
And your journey’s just begun

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again

Let every heartbreak
And every scar
Be a picture that reminds you
Who has carried you this far
‘Cause love sees farther than you ever could
In this moment heaven’s working
Everything for your good

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again
Your heart to beat again
Beat again

Oh, so tell your heart to beat again

This is a song about the loss of a loved one and suggestions on how to somewhat recover from that loss.  Note that I do not even pretend to know how each of you are impacted by a significant loss such as this, I am just sharing my views.  The singer of this song actually lost his wife at an early age and this is his story.  Just imagine losing the one person in your life who you loved the most and who felt the same about you.  Many of you have perhaps had to live through this situation already.  As this happens, the world around you just shatters and comes crashing down in small pieces.  There are no words that bring comfort and no embrace that can fill your empty and broken heart.  At this point in time, you probably can’t even imagine making it through today, much less tomorrow.  The whole weight of the world has suddenly fallen upon your shoulders as you crumble to your knees.  One of the biggest challenges for us, is how do we rise out of the deep dark pit of loss and our intense feeling of loneliness?  Our emotions are out of control and our desire to live seems to be fading away.  We may have many friends who love us, but even their tears and their embraces bring us little hope.

Psalm 121:1-2 can provide us hope in these times of anguish.  “I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  I realize there is a period of grief we must all go through as we experience our loss, but there also comes a turning point as we start to open our eyes to life once again.  The chorus of the song is delivered with such power and with a strong message of encouragement and direction.  At some point, we need to realize that we must rise from our knees and take that first step into our changed future.  We have to almost tell our lungs to breathe and our hearts to beat again; and we have to look to the light that only God can provide.  He is there to give us strength and comfort and to take our hand as we begin our new journey.  This strength may be felt through our prayers, our family, and our friends.  I know that God listens to our prayers and I also believe that he brings the right people into our lives at the right time.  The sooner we put God in control, the sooner we can start our new future.  We will always have the past with us as a heartfelt memory, but we must go forward and not let the past dictate our future.  The hardest part is taking that first step into your new future and driving your heart to beat again.  In the book of Isaiah 41:13, we are told that God will help us when we are ready to move forward, “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

As we start our lives over, it is like a new beginning.  We are starting over and starting to find our way out of the darkness.  God has been with us every step of the journey through our darkness and loneliness, and he gives us his love as he prepares us for that first step.  He is there to lead us, to guide us, and to love us.  As we take our first steps into our new future; we start to leave the darkness and feel the bright sunlight shining on our face.  It is a time of building a new future and beginning the next chapter in our lives.  We have to learn to deal with the conversations around our loss, how we handle dinner invitations when we are now alone for the first time, how we go to events, and how we completely restructure our lives.  Perhaps Matthew 6:34 gives us some of the best guidance regarding one day at a time, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  It is not only a new beginning for us, but also for those around us.  It may be the first time we have paid attention to just how many people care about us and how they have been there supporting us during our deepest darkest hours. 

Our heartbreak will never go away, but it doesn’t mean we can’t go on living.  Our loss has taught us lessons about cherishing every moment of every day; take nothing for granted.  Yes, we will have the scars of our loss forever, but we have also learned to keep walking forward no matter what life throws at us.  Every moment of our past means even more and every memory is more precious than we could have ever imagined.  We must look to the future and the path that God lays before us.  We can have hope once again as God opens the new doors of our future and helps us close the doors of the past.  We will never be alone, God tells us this in Matthew 28:20; “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Maybe, as others hear about the scars on our heart and soul, we may be able to help them find their way and continue their story. 

Click to Hear Danny Gokey Sing Tell My Heart to Beat Again

God is in this Story

The next entry for my Blog is God is in this Story, which was written by Jeff Pardo, Ethan Gregory Hulse, and Katy Nichole.  The song was initially released June 10,2022.  A link to Katy Nicole and Big Daddy Weave performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

God is in this Story

There’s torn up pages in this book
Words that tell me I’m no good
Chapters that defined me for so long
But the hands of grace and endless love
Dusted off and picked me up
Told my heart that hope is never gone

God is in this story
God is in the details
Even in the broken parts
He holds my heart, He never fails
When I’m at my weakest
I will trust in Jesus
Always in the highs and lows
The One who goes before me
God is in this story

So if the storm you’re walking through
Feels like it’s too much and you
Wonder if He even cares at all
Well, hold on tight to what you know
He promised He won’t let you go
Your song of healing’s written in His scars

God is in this story
God is in the details
Even in the broken parts
He holds my heart, He never fails
When I’m at my weakest
I will trust in Jesus
Always in the highs and lows
The One who goes before me
God is in this story

If it reads like addiction
If it reads like disease
He’s the One who frees the prisoner
He’s the healer of all things
If it reads like depression
If it reads broken home
He’s the One who holds your sorrow
He won’t leave you here alone

God is in this story
God is in the details
Even in the broken parts
He holds my heart, He never fails
When I’m at my weakest
I will trust in Jesus
Always in the highs and lows
The One who goes before me

Always in the highs and lows
The One who goes before me
God is in this story (you’re in this story)
God is in my story (right here in my story)

Have you ever really stopped and thought about everything that has gone on in your life?  I know that many of us refer to a chapter in our life or reflect on the many experiences we have had over the years.  Suppose all of this was documented in a book, what story would it tell?  What would be the theme of your life story?  How does each chapter begin and end and what caused you to fail or succeed in each chapter?  I believe this song encourages each of us to take the time and answer these questions. 

The song starts out by referring to torn pages.  When I see this, it makes me think of books where the pages have been dog-eared, high-lighted, and perhaps torn at times.   The cover is probably torn as well.  These are indicators of constantly referring back to the same pages over and over again.  In our lives, don’t we often seem to be caught in a roundabout?  Maybe it is a series of bad relationships, choosing the wrong friends, difficulty in the work place, poor decisions, or just that we can’t seem to escape the situations we get into.  These reoccurring events in our lives are the worn out pages in our story.  We become so defined by our past, that we really don’t focus on what we could be and how we could turn around our lives.  The end result is we spend too much time dwelling on our past instead of focusing on how to get out of our rut and becoming who God wants us to be.

The good news is that Christ is always there to pick us up whenever we decide to accept his outstretched hands.  He knows the stories of our past, because he was with us every chapter in our story.  Not only does Christ know the chapters, but he also knows the most intimate details of every chapter; most importantly he knows how our story ends.  Jesus was always there with his outstretched hands that we did not accept because we either forgot him or decided we didn’t need him.  We may think we are lost forever, but Christ is always there to love us; no matter what we have done wrong or how many times we have made mistakes.  His love never fails and he never gives up on us.  We are told in Matthew 28:31 to give all of our burdens to him. “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   Once we adhere to and accept this verse, we can move on to the next chapter in our life.

As you enter into that next storm thinking you are alone and that no one cares about you, take the hands that Christ has extended to you and feel his arms around you.  He promised to never ever let us go.  It is at this time that you will realize that you are not alone, have never been alone, and can start focusing on tomorrow instead of repeating yesterday.  Feel the comfort in his love and the nail scarred hands that he has because of each of us.  As we face addiction, sickness, depression, rejection; know that you never face these alone and walking with Christ will keep these events from being the dog-eared chapters in your life.  It doesn’t mean our lives will be easy and that we will not stumble, but we will never be alone when we realize that God is in our story.  The good news is that he is with us even before our story begins and stays with us until the last chapter is complete.  1 John 5:4 tells us that God has overcome the world and with our faith in him, we too shall have final victory and spend eternity with him.   “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

Put your faith in Jesus and make him an integral part of your story.

Click to Hear Katy Nicole and Big Daddy Weave Sing God is in this Story