There's a song I've been hearing a lot recently on the two Christian radio stations I listen to. It's one of those songs that, the more I hear it, the more I dislike it.
(As a side note, let me say right now that I am in no way trying to start a debate on music with this post. If you like this song and it's touched your life, encouraged you, etc., great! I'd love to hear about it; however, that has not been my experience.)
The chorus of this particular song repeats the line, "It's not over yet," six times scattered among the other lyrics. And then the chorus is repeated about three times. For those who don't want to do the math, that means throughout the song, I hear "It's not over yet" at least eighteen times.
I know that the song is supposed to be encouraging. It's supposed to help the listener to move on, press forward, and not give up. Unfortunately, for me, that's not what it does.
You see, I want it to be over. I really want it to be over. And simply telling me that I need to keep on fighting and never give up doesn't give me the strength to actually do it.
Let me back up. Life for me has been busy recently. My work schedule has been constantly changing, and I have been feeling stressed largely because of it. Those who know me may know that I don't get stressed easily. However, those who have seen me stressed know that things fall apart very quickly for me when it happens. While I've been scrambling to keep up with my work schedule, I feel like everything else has been falling behind: I've had nights were I've been going to sleep late and waking up early. I missed church last Sunday morning because I was exhausted from working a 12 hour day on Saturday. I have three books I haven't written reviews on since I finished them, and I haven't been journaling because of the time it takes when I want to go to bed. I binge my devotions on the nights when they actually happen only to then go days without. When I do have time at home, I don't want to do anything and end up wasting time online doing nothing.
I don't want to keep going. I want it to be over, and hearing that it's not over just makes me want to stop right where I am and give up. I can't do it. I don't want to do it. I don't have the willpower within me to pull myself up and keep going.
Frankly, that's what this song doesn't give me. Hope. A reason to keep going. A way to keep going when I've reached my limit, but it's still not over.
That's why I prefer songs such as Mark Schultz's "He Will Carry Me," Mandisa's "Overcomer" or "Stronger," Steven Curtis Chapman's "His Strength Is Perfect," or numerous other songs. Or better yet, Paul's "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
I don't need to be told to just keep going. I need to be told that God will carry me when I can't go any farther. I need to be told that God is using my weakness to emphasize His strength. I need to know that it's okay if I can't do it because He can.
I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I also want to be honest. I know a lot of people are struggling with much bigger and harder things than a busy schedule. However, this is where I've been recently. Things are getting better. I've had time to catch up on sleep the past couple days, and it looks like my schedule might finally be settling down. For those who aren't there yet, hopefully this will be an encouragement to you. It may not be over yet when you really want it to be, but you can keep going because He's strong enough to carry you through it.
I know that the song is supposed to be encouraging. It's supposed to help the listener to move on, press forward, and not give up. Unfortunately, for me, that's not what it does.
You see, I want it to be over. I really want it to be over. And simply telling me that I need to keep on fighting and never give up doesn't give me the strength to actually do it.
Let me back up. Life for me has been busy recently. My work schedule has been constantly changing, and I have been feeling stressed largely because of it. Those who know me may know that I don't get stressed easily. However, those who have seen me stressed know that things fall apart very quickly for me when it happens. While I've been scrambling to keep up with my work schedule, I feel like everything else has been falling behind: I've had nights were I've been going to sleep late and waking up early. I missed church last Sunday morning because I was exhausted from working a 12 hour day on Saturday. I have three books I haven't written reviews on since I finished them, and I haven't been journaling because of the time it takes when I want to go to bed. I binge my devotions on the nights when they actually happen only to then go days without. When I do have time at home, I don't want to do anything and end up wasting time online doing nothing.
I don't want to keep going. I want it to be over, and hearing that it's not over just makes me want to stop right where I am and give up. I can't do it. I don't want to do it. I don't have the willpower within me to pull myself up and keep going.
Frankly, that's what this song doesn't give me. Hope. A reason to keep going. A way to keep going when I've reached my limit, but it's still not over.
That's why I prefer songs such as Mark Schultz's "He Will Carry Me," Mandisa's "Overcomer" or "Stronger," Steven Curtis Chapman's "His Strength Is Perfect," or numerous other songs. Or better yet, Paul's "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
I don't need to be told to just keep going. I need to be told that God will carry me when I can't go any farther. I need to be told that God is using my weakness to emphasize His strength. I need to know that it's okay if I can't do it because He can.
I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I also want to be honest. I know a lot of people are struggling with much bigger and harder things than a busy schedule. However, this is where I've been recently. Things are getting better. I've had time to catch up on sleep the past couple days, and it looks like my schedule might finally be settling down. For those who aren't there yet, hopefully this will be an encouragement to you. It may not be over yet when you really want it to be, but you can keep going because He's strong enough to carry you through it.
No comments:
Post a Comment