This next song was written by Ryan Stevenson, Bryan Fowler, and Jonathan Smith. It was first released in 2018. A link to Ryan Stevenson performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry. Bart Millard of Mercy Me is on background vocals.
No Matter What
A lot of us grew up believing
At any moment we could lose it all
And at the drop of a hat
God might turn His back and move on
A lot of us feel like we blew it
Thinking that we’re just too far gone
But I want you to know
There’s still a hope for you now
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter what
There’s never been a better time to get honest
There’s never been a better time to get clean
So come as you are
Run to the cross and be free
Oh, be free
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son
No matter what
I don’t know what you’ve been taught
Don’t know what you’ve been told
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you, no
And I don’t know what you’ve seen
Don’t know what you’ve been through
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you
He’ll never let go!
He’ll never, never, never let you go
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son
No matter what
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son!
No matter what
As children and perhaps in our adult years, many of us may believe or have believed that if we were not good enough, we would not go to heaven. We have always heard that all of the bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. This could create a lot of anxiety for us and I know that I did something bad every day of my life. Some wonder if the bad things they did could keep them from heaven. One could also wonder if there are maybe degrees of bad and that some bad acts might still allow us to barely make it through the pearly gates and others would find out they would not make it in at all. Just how much tolerance does God have for us and at what point have we missed the opportunity to spend eternity with him. How many excuses does he allow from us? There are many people who give up on God and many do so because they believe he has given up on them. The good news is there is still hope for everyone.
John 3:16 tells us: 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. This verse is essentially telling us that God was willing to send his only son to die for us so we could still come to heaven. God knows we are not perfect and that each of us has done bad things in our lives, all he asks of us is that we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior and we are guaranteed to spend eternity with him. In addition to this verse, we are told in Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. With these two promises, we are told it is never too late to turn to Jesus and it doesn’t matter what we have done. Isn’t this an awesome opportunity for each of us? We have the promise of eternal life with Jesus if we only accept and believe in him as our savior. Once we do this, all of our sins are forgiven and erased forever; God will never turn his back on us.
It is always difficult to admit the mistakes we have made; we are worried about what others will think about us. If God is forgiving us for everything we have done, don’t you think it would be a great feeling of relief to just confess all of the bad things we have done in our lives to him? He already knows everything we have done, but by confessing; we become free of the burden of carrying those mistakes. The mistakes, or sins, died on the cross with Jesus; so, turn now to God and completely open your hearts to him. Feel the love and the freedom that only he has the power to give. Think about how great it would feel to be truly free, and the fact that you will never be separated from God again. The battles ahead and the regrets of the past will still be there, but now you can know you are not alone and that your future home is there waiting for you. We become his sons and his daughters for eternity. Wow!
We have all had different experiences in our lives and we have been taught many different things through our interactions with others. We come from different backgrounds and have walked different paths, but the one thing we have in common is that we have a God who loves us, is committed to us, and will never ever let us go once we have given ourselves to him. His love for us will never change even though we will continue to change every day of our lives. He will be with us on every path we take for the remainder of our days. We will always be his sons and daughters.
No matter where you stand in your relationship with God, it is never to late to turn to him and accept his unfailing love and his forgiveness.
Click to Hear Ryan Stevenson Sing No Matter What You’ve Done