We've featured this song a couple of times before, and also this particular version which is one of our favourites. And it's another song that comes straight out of scripture.
Matt and Beth Redman are prolific writers, both of books and songs. Matt is an accomplished worship leader, and when we're leading worship, his songs are frequently in our consciousness. This particular song was written within a month of 9/11 and was, in Redman's words "a realization that we all face seasons of pain and unease".
Being a Christian isn't a free pass to a land of milk and honey as some preachers would suggest. We have our struggles, including an ongoing battle with depression; at the moment, it's a battle we're winning, but it hasn't always been that way. And this is a song which has given us comfort and encouragement when the darkness has closed in around us.
The book of Job says ―"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21) - and the bridge of this song comes right from that particular verse. Blessing the Lord when you're down on your luck is incredibly challenging, but it's also an incredible release, as we can attest. So if you're in that "desert place" today, we hope that this song will encourage you, and that the sun will indeed soon be shining down on you:
May you be as blessed by this song as we have been, time and time again!
4 comments:
Inv2: Thank you for sharing this and a little of your journey.
As a result I am sitting listening to tracks from 2 Matt Redman albums I purchased off iTunes this morning 'Blessed be Your Name, the Worship Songs of Matt Redman, Vol 1' and '10000 Reasons'.
I am particularly enjoying 10000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) and Endless Hallelujah both off the 10000 Reasons Album
Thanks again
Thanks for posting that, I2. It's a version I had not heard before and the song particularly lends itself to a gospel choir.
@ Anon; that's fantastic; glad that this resonated with you, and I'm sure you'll enjoy Matt Redman's music; God really speaks through his songs.
@ MacDoc; it does indeed. It's a version I stumbled across on YouTube one day; from an anniversary concert by the London Community Gospel Choir who I first saw on telly singing Somebody to Love with George Michael at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley. The big gospel chorus, and the unabashed joy are real stand-outs.
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