Echo: Dare 2019 Song Story

“When night has fallen, when fear is common, still you’re calling me. When faith is lost and my hope exhausted, you will be my strength”- Echo, Elevation Worship

Life is messy, full of ups and downs. Unexpected news, surprise circumstances, curve-ball revelations, both good and bad, can leave us feeling stunned and off-balance. When we face trials or storms of any kind, it can be easy to let darkness settle in. It can be easy to let fear and anxiety and worry enter our thoughts and hearts, blocking out the light and hope of God’s word – His truth – and if we’re not careful we can find life and our faith begin to unravel.

We can find ourselves sinking under the pressure, under the waves of discouragement rather than letting God’s hand hold us above them.

It’s when we face these times of trouble that, if we’re not proactive in fighting them, lies can take hold. It can be tempting to listen to the lies that God has abandoned you, or that God is upset with you, or that God doesn’t see you. It’s as if we’re convinced in that moment that God finally ran out of patience with us, finally we became too much, and he turned his back on us, leaving us to figure this one out on our own.

But these are lies from the enemy.

The truth is that God promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Despite our unworthiness, He promises to be with us through everything because He loves us. He promises that no matter what we face, no matter what fear may cloud our judgement, no matter how far we wander from his embrace, we will never be alone. He promises to be always by our side, standing with us, fighting for us, carrying us when it feels like we can no longer stand. In every season, in every area of brokenness, He promises to bring us hope where there’s despair, strength where we are weak, and truth where we are deceived.

“When my mind says I’m not good enough, God you’re enough for me. I’ve decided I’m not giving up, ‘cus you won’t give up on me”- Echo, Elevation Worship

This song reminds us the importance of taking our thought life captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Our mind is like valuable real estate and the enemy is constantly working to gain ownership of that ground, because he knows whatever is taking place in our thought life, even subconsciously, is controlling our whole life and influencing the lives of others that we are in relationship with. He knows that if we wake up to who we are and whose we are, we will be unstoppable.

No one said life was going to be easy (or if they did they were wrong). God didn’t promise us ‘easy’, the moment we turn to him. He doesn’t promise we will never have problems. He doesn’t promise that we will never face difficulties, or hardships, or pain, or suffering. He doesn’t promise that every person we love will love us back. He doesn’t guarantee that we will never experience loss, or failure, or disappointment. He never said that things would always go our way, that we would always know what to do, or that our path would be bump free, smooth and well-lit.

In fact, Jesus guaranteed the very opposite. In John 16:33 Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble” (emphasis added). He told us that the way to life is hard (Matthew 7:14), troubles will come (1 Peter 5:10), and we may even sometimes find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). Being a Christian doesn’t change the fact that we still live in a broken world, full of broken people, and the consequences of sin. But there is hope.

God promises that if we search for Him we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). He is not playing hard to get, He is near us whenever we pray (Deuteronomy 4:7) and His love will never fail (1 Chronicles 16:34). He is faithful in every way and he blesses those who delight themselves in His Word (Psalm 1:1–3).

God promises salvation to all who believe in His Son Jesus (Romans 1:16–17) and he will work all things, no matter what life throws our way, together for the good of us who love him (Romans 8:28). He brings us comfort in our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3–4), new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and he promises every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

God promises peace when we pray (Philippians 4:6–7) and to supply all our needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19). Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him (John 10:10), eternal life to those who trust Him (John 4:14) and that He will return for us (John 14:2–3). We will be with Him always.

“You’re love is holding on and it won’t let go…I feel it breaking out like an echo…in my soul”- Echo, Elevation Worship

God is repeating his promises over us every single day – like an echo – continually reminding us of his goodness, his faithfulness and his love. If we will only tune into his voice.

Freedom is always to be found in the truth of God’s word, truths that will combat the weeds that can stifle the freedom from our lives. We can all encounter the freedom of God’s presence, the power of spending time with God and, through submission to our creator, we can all experience the freedom that is to be found in the assurance of God’s promises and his ultimate purposes and plans for our lives.

Taking hold of these truths will lead to victory over these enemies, against these lies, with the power to revolutionise how we view the world and take our place in it. His presence has the power to break chains that keep us in slavery, reveal heavenly wisdom where there’s confusion and restore and resurrect what was dead to life. And a heavenly transformation is to be found, ever more into the likeness of Christ, helping us to persevere through the most difficult of seasons, knowing that God is in control.

We’re all on a journey, but God promises to finish the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6) – he does nothing in half measures. He started the work in us, and He will be sure to complete it.