Philippians 4:6 – Song Dive

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

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

The next entry for my Blog is The River, which was written by Colby Wedgeworth, Jordan Feliz, and Josh Silverber. The song was initially released in 2015. A link to Jordan Feliz performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

The River

I know a place where we can go
To lay the troubles down eating your soul
I know a place where mercy flows
Take the stains make you whiter than snow

Like a tide, it is rising up deep inside
A current that moves and makes it come alive
Living water that brings the dead to life, oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re going down to the river
Down to the river, down to the river to pray
Let’s get washed by the water
Washed by the water and rise up in amazing grace
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (You will leave changed)
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (Never the same)

I’ve seen it move in my own life
Took me from dusty roads into paradise
All of my dirt, all of my shame
Drowned in the streams that’ve made me born again

Like a tide, it is rising up deep inside a
Current that moves and makes it come alive
Living water that brings the dead to life, oh-oh-oh-oh
We’re going down to the river
Down to the river, down to the river to pray
Let’s get washed by the water
Washed by the water and rise up in amazing grace
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (You will leave changed)
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (Never the same)
Let’s go down
We’re going down to the river
Down to the river, down to the river to pray
Let’s get washed by the water
Washed by the water and rise up in amazing grace
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (You will leave changed)
Let’s go down, down, down to the river (Never the same)
Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go down in amazing grace

Where do you go or what do you do when you just want to escape from everything, to a place of solitude? Sometimes life is just too difficult and we look for that special place or activity that brings us peace and allows us to get away, even for just a short time. This song tells us the best place to go to find the peace we are looking for and need. It is a place to bare our souls without being judged or ridiculed. It allows us to share our deepest darkest secrets and confess our wrongdoings without any retribution. It is a refuge where there is only peace, love, and comfort. What is really awesome about our special place of escape is that we can block out the misery of the world for just a bit, and then walk away feeling as if the dirt and grime from a sinful world has been taken out of our soul and washed our body clean. As we enter our area of solitude, we can almost feel the immediate impact of being there and feeling the only power that can cleanse away the darkness in our soul. The song says we are going Down to the River, but the river is not the water flowing somewhere under a bridge; it is the living water that only Jesus Christ can provide. This is the only water than can makes us whole again and cleanse our soul. The same living water that Jesus spoke of in the book of John, chapter 4.

Once you have experienced the living water, you will never be the same; your life is changed forever. When you open your heart to Jesus and accept him into your life, you always have that living water available and flowing inside of you. The challenge each of us face is that we must take the time to pray and actively engage that living water of peace inside of us. I know that Jesus is always available and always there, but it is in our court to listen to him and engage him; he is always ready and reaching out to us. I believe the primary obstacle we must overcome is making time for him, listening to him, and allowing his love to flow through us. When we go down to the River, we are essentially focusing on Jesus and not on the world around us. I am not sure how anyone really survives without having the River, for it is the only place where there is total forgiveness and no shame or guilt. It is the only place we can go for unconditional love and grace, and be who we really are.

We all have our struggles and our failures. I know I have said things I shouldn’t have said, done things I shouldn’t have done; but I also know that I haven’t always spoken up when I should have or taken action when I should have. We can dwell on the woulda, coulda, shoulda things in our lives or we can take the time to pray and ask Christ for not only his forgiveness, but also for his guidance and direction in our lives. Philippians 4:6 reminds us of what God does for us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” The day he died on the cross, he forgave us for every sin we have committed as well as all future sins. He wants us to come to him through prayer and just talk with him about what is going on in our lives. It is through this open communication that we feel his love, his forgiveness, and his power. If we do not take the time to pray and feel his arms around us, we will never have hope and we will never have peace; we will continue to be overcome by the influence of the world around us. Because of his amazing grace, we are forgiven and that we are worthy to hold his hand and walk with him. He starts the tide of cleanliness rising up inside of us every time we come to the River, our time of prayer and fellowship.

Hopefully you spend time every day just communicating and visiting with God. It doesn’t take special language or special words; you can talk to him like as a best friend or like a father. How long has it been since you experienced the power and love of Jesus Christ coursing through your veins and felt the peace that only he can bring? I thank him for being the River that washes the sin of the world off of me every time I come to him. The River is waiting for you.

Click to Hear Jordan Feliz Sing The River.