Sunday Thought - How He Loves

Sunday is my favorite day of the week for many reasons, but mostly because no matter how crummy the rest of my week as been, I can always depend on Sunday to be uplifting and inspiring. No matter how hectic life gets around here, Sunday is always a day set aside for meditation, worship and learning. Whenever I take time to contemplate and celebrate, I wind up feeling incredibly inspired ... and I've decided to share some of that inspiration with you. For the next few weeks every Sunday evening I'm going to try to post my "Sunday Thought" ... something inspiring/uplifting that I heard at church, or read in the Bible, or just have had on my mind lately. I know this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea ... and that's OK ... but I figure since this is my blog, it's alright if I post the things that matter to me. And Sunday thoughts matter to me. :o)

Tonight, I was inspired by this blog post on the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness and the story of the man who wrote it. One thing I wish people would realize about worship songs and hymns is that there's always, ALWAYS, a powerful story behind them. They're so much more than just nice poetry put to powerful music ... songs about God come from somebody's experience, somebody's deep belief, somebody's conviction. If you've seen the movie Amazing Grace, you know all about the story behind those famous words: "I once was blind, but now I see". If you've read about Horatio Spafford, then you know the tragic circumstances that inspired him to write the words of one of my favorite hymns: "It is well ... it is well with my soul." Whatever your favorite hymn is, I really recommend you do a little digging and find out the story behind it. I guarantee you'll find one.

These days, my favorite worship song is How He Loves, written by John Mark McMillan. It's a powerful song about how deeply God loves us and how, when we open our hearts, that love just consumes us and transforms us. And, like all worship songs, it has a pretty inspiring story behind it. John Mark McMillan was a youth pastor and so was his best friend, Steve. One night, at a prayer meeting, Steve prayed this simple prayer: "Lord, if it would shake the youth of this nation I would give my life. I would give my life today if it would transform the youth of this nation." ........ Steve died in a car accident that night. John was extremely distraught and devastated by his friend's death, and the very next day he wrote the words to "How He Loves" to remind himself that God was faithful and would never abandon him.

"... His love's like a hurricane, I am a tree .. bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy ... "

3 years later ... that song is being sung by teenagers and young adults all over the world. It's one of the most requested songs on Christian radio and many churches (including mine) sing it on Sunday mornings. Its lyrics have changed the way a lot of young people think about God. Steve's prayer was granted - through his death, lives are being transformed.

You can watch Kim Walker perform this song by clicking here.
You can read all of the lyrics by clicking here.

If you want to do a little research on the story behind your favorite hymn, see if it's listed on this website.