We Are blessed

 A friend of mine recently turned me on to the band All Sons and Daughters.  As I was listening to the CD I was blown away by their lyrics and accompanying melodies.  One song in particular has been really powerful to listen to.  It is entitled We are Blessed.  The song begins with these strong male vocals that are saying that we are loved when we are at the end of our rope and talking about how we are loved in the midst of trials.  Then the chorus begins and the male vocals are joined with a quiet choir of others singing, "We are blessed."  The song communicates the understanding that even in the midst of our suffering or in the midst of the most difficult times we are blessed.  The other voices in the chorus serve as background to the male vocals and seem to be steadily drawing into the idea that we are blessed.  Then there is small pause and suddenly the female vocals comes through.  Her voice continues to build and finally crescendos in this beautiful chorus where all the voices are singing out loudly and blending perfectly together.  As I listen to the song, I'm struck by the notion that when we see ourselves as blessed in the midst of our pain we give hope and courage to others so they can do the same.  When we acknowledge that we are blessed even when our circumstance seems to suggest otherwise, those around us take notice.

Whenever I think about this theme of being blessed in the midst of suffering, I always go back to the story in Acts 5 where the apostles after proclaiming the resurrection of Christ were flogged and told not to speak of Jesus again.  Yet they left "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." (Acts 5:41).  Imagine the impact that had on believers and nonbelievers alike.  When we go through persecution of many kinds we are to realize that we are blessed.  That our circumstance does not dictate whether or not God loves us.  For he does and he has richly blessed us.  To see the kind of impact that this has on believers you need only look at the next chapter in Acts where Stephen is seized for proclaiming the word.  Acts 7 is devoted to his sermon in the Sanhedrin which leads to his martyrdom.  Spurred on by the courage of his fellow apostles, Stephen was able to boldly proclaim the message of Christ even when his own life was at stake.

Imagine what the church would look like if we could stand together in one chorus and sing boldly that we are blessed.  The world would begin to take notice.  That we are able to stand tall in the midst of tragedy.  To demonstrate an ability to grieve while still being content in what God is doing in our lives.  Certainly this kind of joy comes only from being dependent on Him.  When we are dependent on God, we are able to find the strength we need to carry on, we find the courage to face tomorrow, and we find the hope for a brighter future.  Others begin to see that something in us is vastly different from the world.  That we have a hope that surpasses understanding.  The song subtly points out how to accomplish this task.  It begins with the voice of one person standing up and saying that they are blessed.  May you be that person.

We are Blessed by All Sons and Daughters

(The song that this blog was written about)