A Night of Hope and Healing: From the inside

 

There is no doubt that every artist in the arena felt called to be there.  The list was amazing.  Building429 was just one band in a HUGE lineup of artists who decided to go and do whatever we could to try to bring some light into extreme darkness.  We were told when it was over that 75,000 people had watched the livestream along side the 10,000 people in the arena.  The Lord’s will was done… that much was obvious as the night went on.

 

What wasn’t so obvious???  What were we supposed to say?  What would be too much, and what would be too little?  Backstage there was a sense of togetherness.  We were all confident that God would show up, but no one knew exactly how.  I remember when we found out that we were going to be the first band on.  10,000 people still mourning the loss of such precious lives only a month after the tragedy…. How would they respond?  How should we approach it?

 

There were pretty much no sound checks at all that day.  It was a line check… “can you hear the click track and a little bit of everything???  Good… moving on”. Michael got there just in time for us to play “We Won’t Be Shaken” our brand new song 1 time and then sound check was done.  We literally rehearsed it in the dressing room the rest of the day preparing for the first time that we would share a song that we felt was meant for the night.

 

Numerous conversations throughout the day with our friends left us somewhat confident, but to be honest everyone was shaking in their boots (even the big, BIG dogs were obviously tense).  We prayed a lot, asked for a lot of advice… and then there we were side stage watching Max Lucado and the Mayor of the City pray for the Lords will to be done.  That was the longest prayer of my life… listening intently to the words of his prayer…. Lost in thought and in my own prayer that God would use me.

 

Were we nervous????  I admit it… I’m never nervous… but I was literally quoting the lines to “We Won’t Be Shaken” over and over again in my head until the second that we were announced.  Which then posed another problem… what were the words to “Listen to the Sound”?  That’s right after all these years… when we were about to play a song called “We won’t be shaken” we were all shaking to our core.

 

Funny the way that God works though.  We think we have to have the answers…. But that’s where we mess up.  It’s not about planning the perfect sermon it’s about getting out of the way and allowing Him to move.  “Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened” that was my biggest prayer for an area that is deeply non-religious.  “Lord let them have open hearts…. Let them be willing to knock tonight”

 

I know it was no mistake that we were the first on…. It was God’s design for me to feel small and insignificant.  It was God’s design for us to lead the charge…. He knew that our first show of 2013 needed to be about HIM…. And it was.  Was it perfect… nope…. But it didn’t have to be.

 

Our 3 songs were literally a blur…. It was over as fast as it started.  All I remember was that the first 2.5 minutes of “Listen to the Sound” were really intense and then we hit “Amazing Grace” and the room lifted… the lyrics started penetrating hearts and the whole room seemed to relax a little.   Where I Belong was AMAZING and then came the song we’d never played in a concert or rehearsal hall together.  Psalm 62:2 on our hearts, we just went for it.  It felt huge, and when we walked off the stage we knew we had accomplished something…. we opened the gates and the spirit came walking through.

 

BTW, I’m told some of the artists didn’t sound that good online…. Give them all a break.  All of us were just trying to keep it together out there… the emotions we all felt were unbelievably intense.  I tend to tow the tough guy line…. But when we walked off the stage I was in tears…. And I know that everyone else fought that same knot in their throat all night. 

 

That said… don’t ever doubt your ability to be a vessel that God uses even in the darkest moments of another persons life.  Just remember that we are told to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto our own understanding.  In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your path straight” Proverbs 3:5-6.

Maybe you don’t understand, but you can trust.  Maybe your afraid to sit and cry with the broken hearted, but you can submit to his willIt’s not about you….. your answers, or your thoughts…. His are so much higher than ours….. so TRUST HIM and be what He’s called you to be.  His Hands and Feet.

 

We’ll never forget that night as long as we live… we hope and pray that the effects are lingering still.  For those of you who joined us online, we honestly wish you could’ve been in the room.   For Newtown, CT our prayers continue and though we still don’t have all the answers… we know the one who does.  Stand firm in your faith…. Fight for what is right and true… Never lay down, never give up…. Our God will have the final victory.  Our battle cry is this:

Psalm 62:2

The Lord is my rock and my salvation.  He is my fortress and I will NEVER BE SHAKEN.

 

 

This world has nothing for me

This life is not my own

I know you go before me

And I am not alone

The mountain rises higher

The way seems so unclear

I know that you go with me

I will never fear

I will trust in you

 

 

Whatever will come our way

Through fire or pouring rain

We wont be shaken

Whatever tomorrow brings

Together we’ll rise and sing

We won’t be shaken

 

You know my every longing

You’ve heard my every prayer

You’ve held me in my weakness

You were always there

So I’ll stand in full surrender

It’s your way and not my own

My mind is set on nothing less

Than you and you alone

 

I will not be moved

 

Whatever will come our way

Through fire or pouring rain

We wont be shaken

Whatever tomorrow brings

Together we’ll rise and sing

We won’t be shaken

 

 

We will trust in you

We will not be moved

We will trust in you

And we won’t be shaken

 

Blessings,

Jroy