The past 22 years of my career have culminated in my new album, ‘Deeper Waters.’ Throughout my life, God has richly grown the roots of my faith — namely through suffering. As I look to the future, I pray those roots only grow stronger. Over the next five days, I want to invite you to pursue a more vibrant relationship with Jesus. Journey with me as we dive into deeper waters.
Capitol CMG Label Group
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 1:1-3, John 16:33
Take Me Down To The Deeper Waters
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.”
Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)
The older I get and the more life I live, the more I realize my great need for Jesus. That might sound ironic coming from a guy like me who’s been in ministry for over 20 years. I dedicated my life to the Lord a long time ago, but I’ve never stopped needing Him.
Life is hard, but I think the hardships reveal our great need for a Savior. The most challenging moments in my life have also become some of my sweetest memories with the Lord.
Difficult days bring us closer to Jesus, and honestly, I think that’s one of the reasons why He allows us to go through painful seasons — to draw us closer to Him.
The first song I wrote for my new album is a track called “Closer To You,” and the chorus says, “So I can stand in the rain and just let it pour if I know that You’re standing with me in the storm. I can handle this life breaking my heart in two if it means I’m closer to You.”
That’s my prayer for you and for me. There will be hard days. In fact, Jesus says, “In this world, you will have trouble.” But the last part of that verse in John 16:33 also says, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”
God doesn’t promise we won’t ever experience suffering this side of heaven, but He does promise to walk with us every step of the way.
In good times and in bad, more than anything else, I want my roots to run deep in Him. I want to be planted like a tree by His streams of living water so I can bear really sweet fruit in my lifetime.
Day 2
Scripture: Luke 10:41-42
Relationship > Impact
“‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)
My family is in a busy season of life right now. The world feels like it’s moving so fast I often feel out of control. So, to compensate, I try to control everything. I throw myself full speed ahead into my work and my family and all the things that make me feel like I’m keeping a healthy pace. The problem is what I view as a “healthy pace” is often not very healthy at all.
There’s a story in the Bible about two sisters — Mary and Martha. Jesus comes over to their house, and Martha is so busy making preparations for Jesus that she misses Jesus completely. Her sister, Mary, on the other hand, sits at His feet. He tells the two women that Mary “has chosen what is better.”
I think about this story a lot. I wonder how many times I’ve completely missed Jesus showing up in my life because I was so busy doing things for Him. Don’t get me wrong, I think God has a specific purpose for each of us, but I don’t think He wants us to walk out our divine calling at the expense of our relationship with Him.
God always values intimacy over productivity. Relationship is always His first priority.
A lot of times when I experience struggles in life, I assume God’s going to leverage my pain so I can help others who are walking through a similar season. Otherwise, why would He allow it? He does choose to redeem pain this way, where our healing has a ripple effect on others. But I think before He ever opens a wider door for impact, He often wants to redeem our pain by bringing us into a new depth of relationship with Him.
If my worst moment does nothing more than bring me closer to Jesus, then that’s all the redemption I need. Every painful event in my life doesn’t have to equal profound Kingdom impact for it to matter. If it draws me closer to God, then it has purpose.
I want to be more like Mary, content to simply rest at the feet of Jesus.
Day 3
Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9
What If It Never Gets Better?
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
When I lost my first wife, Melissa, to cancer, my world shattered. I had prayed for God to heal her, but He didn’t choose to heal her the way I wanted Him to. Her death continues to be a part of my life to this day. God has used that part of my story to help other people walk through grief and traumatic loss. At the same time, He’s used my wife, Adie, and my children to help heal that part of my heart that was broken for so long.
One of my favorite lyrics I wrote for this album says, “There’s not a scar in this weathered heart that doesn’t have a story of Your healing.”
Healing doesn’t always come in the form we want it to, however. And healing isn’t always pleasant. We don’t get to decide how God chooses to heal, but we do get to pick whether or not we trust Him.
Admittedly, I have trust issues. I think they began to surface after Melissa passed away. Suddenly, I had this irrational fear that I could all too easily lose the best things in my life if I didn’t have a firm grip on them. But my control never seemed to result in anything but frustration. In fact, most of the time, it only hindered any type of redemptive outcome.
Ultimately, God wants my surrender. He wants me to trust that His plans for my life are far better than my own. In my new song, “Better,” I sing a lyric I’m still trying to live out: “If You don’t answer my questions on this side of heaven, I’m gonna trust the way You work when You don’t rush to heal the hurt. My heart’s still Yours forever even if it never gets better.”
I think God can handle our questions, but He’s always after our hearts.
I’m working through my trust issues, and I think that’s helping me build a deeper faith. The more I genuinely trust God, the more He shows me He’s trustworthy.
Day 4
Scripture: Esther 4:14
Made For These Days
“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (NLT)
Does suffering ever make you feel like you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time? Like, maybe, if you had just arrived a few minutes earlier or taken a different route, life would somehow be easier?
When God places a call on your life, it will rarely be easy to walk out. It will likely take a good amount of bravery to step into everything He has for you. But it’s at the crossroads of our fear and God’s power where a deeper faith is forged. We only get to the deep end of faith by jumping in, and that takes unimaginable courage.
In the Bible, Esther took a wild leap of faith when she stood up to the king of Persia, boldly asking him to save her people. Ultimately, she risked her life and used her voice to rescue an entire nation. But just because God used her in a mighty way doesn’t mean she didn’t question His plan.
Esther regretted getting into the mess she found herself in many times. Repeatedly, she questioned history and her place in it.
Maybe you’re like Esther, and you’re questioning your purpose in this crazy world we live in today.
I’m sure you’ve heard the familiar saying: “When the world’s the darkest, we shine the brightest.” That can feel like a cheesy Christian cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
When life gets weird, and the world literally feels like it’s upside-down, the single best thing we can do is run to Jesus. The closer we get to Christ, the more we reflect His light. The deeper our relationship with Him runs, the brighter our light for Him shines. It’s a byproduct of spending time in His presence.
God doesn’t make mistakes. I really believe you and I were meant to be here on Earth right here, right now, at this very point in His story.
You don’t have to be afraid to do what God’s called you to do. Like Esther, you were made for such a time as this.
Day 5
Scriptures: Isaiah 48:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17
No Survivors
“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” Isaiah 48:10 (NLT)
I hate to tell you this, but going deeper in your faith is going to require pain. And honestly, I’ve found the reality to be the greater the pain, the deeper the faith. I don’t love those odds. It doesn’t feel good. But I know a stronger relationship with Jesus doesn’t come easy.
Oftentimes, God has to burn away things in our lives that aren’t good for us. That’s the only way He can shape us into the people He created us to be.
I wrote a song about this for my new album. It’s called “No Survivors.” The lyric says, “If I’m gonna live, then there’s some things that need to die. My ego, my pride, my grip on my life. Throw it all into the fire and leave no survivors.”
Sometimes, God’s refining fire feels really hot because His aim isn’t just to make us better “Christians.” His goal is to make us more like Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
I can’t be the man I want to be without Jesus. I can’t be the husband and father I want to be without Him. I can’t be the artist I want to be without Him. So that’s why the fire’s so necessary.
When God turns up the heat, that’s when He rids me of all the things that stand in the way of me fulfilling His purposes for my life. Pride, selfishness, envy, bitterness, greed — it all melts away when we allow our Creator to refine us. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t string. Refinement is never pleasant, but the result is the kind of character and integrity that can’t be achieved any other way.
At the end of the day, my prayer is that God will burn away anything that doesn’t reflect His goodness, His peace, His joy, and His heart.
Trust me, the gold you discover on the other side of the fire is worth the temporary discomfort. These days, I’m learning to thank God for the flames because I know they mean a deeper faith is being forged.