Your Faith in God

This chorus was written in 1998 while juggling enormous fallout after two particularly tumultuous years in our lives. Exactly one year after writing this song, we experienced a category-4 hurricane that was being predicted to hit the coastal town we were living in at the time. It was strange that that hurricane's name was Bret, and the newspaper splashed across the front page, "Bret takes the city by storm!" (They spelled my name wrong!) I remember the mandatory evacuation we had to adhere to. That exit route took nearly ten hours to travel what was normally a two-hour trip inland. That storm and that period of time made me think of the story about Jesus, a storm at sea, and Peter in Matthew 14:22-33. This song talks about the faith we must continually must place in Jesus over and over and over again, regardless how our circumstances appear. Peter showed us how easy it is to put our eyes on circumstances and allow fear to sink us faster than a 25-pound anchor.

The bridge verse in Hebrews 11:6 was my inspiration for this song. God gave me this verse to cling to while we were being pummeled from every side. We were losing our first home after being lied about, stolen from, cast out, and were not sure which direction to take. We wanted some real answers and real solutions, and the answer boiled down to, "Trust Me."

I awoke one Sunday morning out of a dead sleep to feel God's heavy impression to read Hebrews 11:6: Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Then I felt I needed to get up and take my family to a small, out-of-the-way church we had attended a couple of times with a client of mine. I did not want to go. We were exhausted, depressed, and still licking some very deep wounds and processing the emotional fallout that accompanies that. I rolled over and ignored the tug until I could not stand it anymore. We got up, got our babies ready, and went.

I still remember the tall, skinny Southern guy with a thick drawl. He was sweating bullets. "I did have a sermon prepared," he said, "but on my way out, the Holy Spirit told me to change it to..." (drum roll) "Hebrews 11:6." My jaw dropped. He continued to share what he felt God had laid on his heart on his way to the pulpit, and every word was relevant to Kim and me. We were in tears and felt seen in a time we felt very unseen. He beelined for us after the service and said, "That was for YOU, wasn't it? I felt like that one was just for you." He had no idea just how much.

Whatever you are facing today, I hope this sermon we have had to preach to ourselves thousands of times will help you. God is exactly who He says He is, and He knows exactly where you are. Trust Him, then do the best you can one moment at a time, and never stop putting one foot in front of the other. One moment at a time, rough though the waters may be, you will find a way ... with His help ... to walk on the waves and get through to the other side of the situation. Keep going.

There are two versions of this song below. I only had ever heard this song one way in my head: Gospel, Soul, Blues. While talking with my wife's cousin, he asked a few questions and threw a few ideas out for an alternate production style for the song. I was skeptical at first, but it definitely worked, and I like it equally as much. This is not the first time I have uploaded the same song in two completely different genres. Alan, this one is for you! I love it.