Hope Now

Hope Now by Addison Road

If everything comes down to love

Then just what am I afraid of?

When I call out your name something inside awakes in my soul

How quickly I forget I’m yours

I’m not my own

I’ve been carried by you all my life

Everything rides on hope now

Everything rides on faith somehow

When the world has broken me down

Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm

Rising waters all I want is the shore

You say I’ll be ok and make it through the rain

You are my shelter from the storm

Everything rides on hope now

Everything rides on faith somehow

When the world has broken me down

Your love sets me free

I’m not my own

I’ve been carried by you all my life

Everything rides on hope now

Everything rides on faith somehow

When the world has broken me down

Your love sets me free

Everything rides on hope now

Everything rides on faith somehow

When the world has broken me down

Your love sets me free

You’ve become my heart’s desire

And I will sing your praises higher

Your love sets me free

Your love sets me free

Your love sets me free

This song has really spoken to me the last few days. Everything comes down to God loving us. He sent His only Son b/c he loved us so much. So if everything comes down to Him loving us, doesn’t that mean that He will always take of us and everything He does, He does in LOVE. So what are we so afraid of? Why do we think that He will just “forget” us? Why do we think He will just leave us to fend for ourselves? Why do we think He will just, all of the sudden, stop guiding us? We have nothing to fear since He is on our side! He is ALWAYS there for us to call upon! Just like the song says, “How quickly I forget I’m yours.” I’m not my own and I have been bought with a price…He has carried me the moment I believed! We have hope in Him that no one else and nothing else can give! We can step out in faith and trust Him! Trust that He has our best interest at hand. Trust that He is working EVERYTHING for His glory!!! Even when we can’t see it; even if its not the “perfect” circumstances; even if it comes in a completely different package than you expected…we can trust that He knows EXACTLY what He is doing. We just have to trust Him. I recently told my best friend that I wish she could see into my future (and I into hers), so she could tell me that everything is going to be ok. She looked right at me and said that she CAN tell me that everything is going to be ok b/c God is in control. The funny thing is, that I thought about that statement later….why do I need HER to look into my future? God knows EVERY single step I take and He is there! That is enough to know that everything is going to be ok. I would trust her to tell me the truth….If He’s my best friend, can’t I trust Him to tell me the truth? He is TRUTH! He is completely sufficient. If I (or anyone else) could see the future, we wouldn’t need to trust Him.

I love the line that says, “When the world has broken me down, Your love sets me free.” The world breaks us down all the time. Unmet expectations. Fallen, sinful friends and family. Jobs. Being busy. It tears us down, but He sets us free from the world and all the bondage of it. His love sets us free to live beyond the unmet expectations; to love others through grace…letting them be exactly who God created them to be; to do our jobs unto the Lord; and to glorify Him in our busy lives. We are FREE! We do not live by the “rules” of this world…we are not bound to it! We don’t live by it! We belong to Him! I am not my own! I am here to do what He has called me to do, whether it seems easy or hard…whether I think I can do it, or not. He didn’t ask….He called me to be obedient. So when unexpected turns in life occur, I have to trust that He will never leave or forsake me. Not only will He not leave us, He is our Shelter! He is our Protector, our Provider! He takes care of His children in the good times and the bad! He wants and desires for us to grow…and we grow the most in trials. He wants us to build character and become more like Him. If we go through a trial, and at the end are no more like Him, we went through it for nothing!

He is my heart’s desire! Sometime I get so worried about being obedient that I miss exactly what He is doing. As long as He is the center of my life, He will guide me where I need to be. He has a plan for my life…a plan to touch others lives for Him. It may not be where I expected to go, but its where He’s called me to be FOR HIM!

We have HOPE in Him! We have to trust that He is in control…even when everything around us is falling apart or everything is amazing or something is just in a different package than expected…He is there! His love sets us free to walk with Him and to love others!

Thanks to my cousin Trav (and his band, Addison Road) for being obedient to where God has called them!!! Your music is already impacting lives! :)