Musical Encouragement #15- "Awakening"

I first heard this in college many years ago. My then wife-to-be lent me a mix CD with this as one of the tracks. I was struck by its simplicity and how it transported be back to so many moments when the gospel was crystal clear in my mind. Have you experience that before?

Perhaps your life is crazy busy. Perhaps you are surrounded with difficulty and trial. Perhaps things are going well, but your spiritual life is a bit lethargic. Whatever the situation, do you know the cure? It is The Gospel. Being confronted with our sin, our need for a Savior, and God's amazing grace refocus our minds on what really matters. Yes, we need to be responsible for what God has given us stewardship over. However, we need to remember that at our core is a sinner who needs Christ. Too often we try to give out five easy steps to manage your life or something similar. What we need is to be confronted with the Gospel on a daily basis and reorient our world to that unshakable truth. As we preach the Gospel to ourselves we will find trials easier to handle and joy in our hearts.

The journey of this song takes us from the beginnings of the Holy Spirit's work through the joy of salvation. There are a few lines that take poetic license, but don't go crazy reading too far into them. I listen to this song as if it was a baby Christian singing about their salvation experience. I hope it refocuses your heart on the truths of the Gospel.

Awakening

by Sara Groves

Dress down your pretty faith. Give me something real.

Leave out the thee and thou and speak to me now.

Speak to my pain and confusion, speak through my fears and my pride,

Speak to the part of me that knows I'm something deep down inside.

I know that I'm not perfect, but compare me to most,

In a world of hurt and a world of anger I think I'm holding my own.

And I know that you said there is more to life. And I know I am not satisfied.

But there are mornings I wake up and I'm just thankful to be alive.

I've known now, for quite a while, that I am not whole.

I've remembered the body and the mind, but disected my soul.

Now something inside is awakening, like a dream I once had and forgot,

And it's something I'm scared of and something I don't want to stop.

And I woke up this morning and realized that Jesus is not a portrait,

Or stained glass windows, or hymns, or the traditions that surround us.

And I thought it would be hard to believe in, but it's not hard at all,

To believe I've sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.

And He's not asking me to change in my joy for martyrdom,

He's asking to take my place;

To stand in the gap that I have formed

With His real, and His sweet, and His real amazing grace.

And it's not just a sign or a sacrament, it's not just a metaphor for love.

The blood is real and it's not just a symbol of your faith.

*You can download this song from Amazon