sunset – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is Gratitude, which was written by Benjamin William Hastings, Michael Brandon Lake, and Dante Bowe. It was first published June 3, 2022. A link to Brandon Lake singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

All my words fall short
I got nothing new
How could I express
All my gratitude?

I could sing these songs
As I often do
But every song must end
And You never do

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

I’ve got one response
I’ve got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You

So come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Oh come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord, hey

Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord

So I throw up my hands
Praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

Have you ever been in a situation when you were at a complete loss for words? My guess is that probably all of us have been in that situation. Sometimes we are at a loss of words because of anger, because of the way love has filled our hearts, overcome with grief, or maybe just out of surprise. These writers have expanded the list of reasons we may have for our loss of words, they chose gratitude. As I prepared for this blog entry, I started looking at what gratitude really means. It is more than just offering up a thank you. Gratitude is taking the time to really think about the wonderful things you have in your life. I am so thankful for my spouse and her love, my beautiful loving daughter, my granddaughter, my friends, my health, my travels, and the list goes on and on. As you take time to think about the most important things in your life, do you seem to run out of words to describe your feelings? The writers of this song are talking about that moment when you start to realize that sometimes, words are just not enough. When we reach that point of what else can we say and do to express our gratitude, it is time to open our hearts to God and raise our arms in praise. After a while, maybe our words unintentionally become shallow although that was never our intention; we just run out of things to say and do. As the writer says, every song must end. As there are no more words of gratitude, we just need to open our hearts to God and praise him and thank him over and over again. There is no gift worthy of God our King, but all he wants is our love and our gratitude. From the depths of our hearts, we should be singing to God and praising him. What is expressed from our hearts is stronger than any words we could ever speak. As we raise our arms and sing from our hearts and our lips and sing Hallelujah, we are expressing our true gratitude to God for all he has done for us. It doesn’t sound like much, but all God wants from us is to love him and to love his son Jesus who died for us. God shows his love for us every passing day. He speaks to us in the brilliant sunrise, the glowing sunset, the sparkling oceans, the beautiful flowers, the joy of seeing people healed, and the love that overwhelms us when we accept Jesus as our lord and savior. It doesn’t always take words to express gratitude; it sometimes just takes awareness. In 1 Thess 5:17 we are told to give thanks and rejoice in all things “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Perhaps you are not the best singer, maybe you can’t even carry a tune, and maybe you scare yourself singing in the shower; but God only listens to your words and focuses on your heart. The writer tells his soul that now is not the time to be shy, we are to lift our song and our praises from deep in our heart and soul. Inside of us, we have the power of a lion and that power is always there, we just need to call upon it. The time of expressing our gratitude is every day. The place to express our gratitude is wherever we are. Philippians 4:12-13 tells to rejoice in all things since God is always there for us, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Looking at this verse, how can we not be grateful?

Why not lift your hands right now, call upon the lion inside of you to sing praises to God, and let him feel the gratitude for all he has done for you?

Click to Hear Brandon Lake Sing Gratitude

The next entry for my Blog is How Can You Not, which was written by Jeff Sojka, Leanna Crawford, and Jessie Parker Early. It was first published in 2022. A link to Leanna Crawford singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Can You Not

… I see the sun rise in the morning
And a million stars at night
I hear the birds, they can’t stop singing hallelujah
I see His goodness when I fall down
And it’s grace that picks me up
Every day, I can’t stop singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… I see the sunset and I wonder
If He paints it just for me
Nobody else could make a world so beautiful
How could I question His love when it’s everywhere I go
Wherever I look, I find another miracle

… Everything is evidence (ooh-ooh)
Showing me that You exist (oh-oh)
All creation singing hallelujah
Everything is evidence (oh, everything)
Showing me that You exist (He’s God)
All creation singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved? Hmm-mm
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… Oh, how can you not see God (everything is evidence)
In every little thing, in every little moment? (Showing me that You exist)
How can you not feel loved? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not? (Hallelujah)
‘Cause He’s in the middle of (everything is evidence)
Every little thing and every little moment (showing me that You exist)
How can you not see God? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not?

Many people may ask, how do you know if there is a God if you can’t see him? I believe this song really takes on this challenge. Most of us have the opportunity to see a sunrise every morning. I understand we may not be up to see the majesty of a sunrise, but it still happens. Some of the most beautiful sunrises for me are those across the water or coming over the mountains. It also seems as if the birds even enjoy these sunrises; they seem to be singing more often and more loudly as a new day begins. I see more sunsets and they have just as much beauty as the sunrises. How many times have you stared up at a dark sky that is full of seemingly twinkling stars. My wife and I love to take trips away from the city lights and one of the benefits is we get to see those dazzling twinkling stars fill the sky.

How about the things that happen in your life that maybe you take for granted? You woke up yet another day. You wake up with a plan to do good and be faithful to God, perhaps every day; but then you quickly stumble and your plan fails once again. If you trust in God and believe in him, he is there to pick you up. He lifts you up, helps restore your confidence, and lets you go on your way again. He doesn’t ask anything of us, he doesn’t hold our mistakes against us; he just puts us on our feet yet once again. His grace and his unconditional never-ending love are with us always, as long as we have accepted his son as our personal savior. We should be singing his praises and thanking him every day.

Can someone truly believe that all of this just happens by accident, that the heavens just happened to come into existence in a spontaneous manner without a plan? That the sun and stars just magically appear? How can someone explain the powerful feeling of emotion and love that sometimes just hits us out of nowhere. There are times when I feel an inner strength that seemingly comes from nowhere. Some things are just hard to explain, such as how did I find the right woman to spend my life with? How can these people explain the wonder and majesty of the sun, the stars, the seas, and the natural wonders that are found across our world. Have you ever held a baby or small child who looked up at you and gave you that beautiful smile that only a little one can give? Nothing happens by accident. As the writer says, how can we not believe in God when we are surrounded by all of his marvelous creations, the people he brings into our lives, and the love that we feel deep inside of us. The writer emphasizes how can they not believe when they are standing in the middle of God’s creations every single day. The people who say they cannot feel and see the creations of God, are like people who are standing in the middle of a deep lake and wondering where the water is. People become so wrapped up in their own little self-made cocoon and miss out on everything God is offering them.

I personally love watching a sunset and I love the question posed by the writer, did God paint the sunset just for me? Some people may think that is a selfish view, but I think every sunset is beautiful and we all see different things in a sunset. Each of us may see different color variations and different cloud shapes, that is why God made all of us a little different. Although we may not all look or act the same, the beauty he creates amazes all of us. The difference is that many of us understand that we all came from God’s master plan as revealed in the bible and others see the beauty but don’t understand the master plan. The master plan is that God really wants all of us to spend eternity with him in heaven; after all, we are his children. Even though he gives us all of the beauties of this world and shows us his love, many of us fail to recognize him and his plan. All he asks of us is to accept his only son Jesus, who died on the cross for each of us, so that we could have eternal life with him. Almost everyone can admire the beautiful mountains, seas, skies, and have other people to love; but they are not willing to admit that we have one creator who created all of this as part of a master plan. He tells us that he has a plan in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In the midst of all God has done and continues to do, how can you not believe in him?

Click to Hear Leanna Crawford Sing How Can You Not