This past month I had a friend point out the importance of understanding the words we are singing during worship. Should be a no brainer, right? In all honesty, as I looked back I had realized that often I simply find myself singing along without truly paying attention to the words. It has been my intention since then to dig further into the lyrics I am singing during worship.
One song that came to mind today while hiking the Camino was one that I have heard a few squad mates bring up, “Nothing I Hold Onto” by Will Reagan. Below is a link to the song and its lyrics! Check it out
Scripture references given for the song:
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
However, these don’t quite explain the lyric placed in the song that says, “I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open.”
I mean, how many mountains have you climbed? How many of them have you climbed with arms outstretched the entire way? It’s confusing right?
I have climbed quite a few in the last couple of days alone, and I can tell you that none of them did I hike up with my arms wide open. It doesn’t make sense… at least not literally.
As I was walking today I began to mull over what these words mean. Even our Bible isn’t to be taken literal in every word, if it were, a lot of what Jesus taught would make no sense because He quite often spoke in parables. During my thinking (the hike was 14 miles… so I had plenty of time) I had an old Jewish proverb come to mind which says, “on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
The story behind this old proverb comes from Genesis 22. It is the story where God tells Abraham to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. Abraham then takes Isaac out to the mountain binds him up and places him on the altar. Just as he is about to sacrifice his son an Angel of the Lord stops him and low and behold a ram has become stuck in a nearby bush. Thus, the saying, “on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Why is this important?
I believe it has everything to do with the lyric above. None of us are going to go climb a mountain with our arms spread wide. I see the lyric to represent the mountain of the Lord. To me it is a metaphor of surrender. I pondered this story today as I was walking. Each step Abraham took up the mountain he realized what would await him upon his arrival. He knew that he would have to kill his only son. To me each step he took up that mountain was one of surrender towards the Lord.
In the physical his arms were not spread wide, but spiritually they were. When I imagine surrender I picture arms wide open. It’s what some do in worship. it’s what we did as kids after being shot by an airsoft pellet to let our friends know we were out. So, I see Abraham in this metaphorical state of his arms spread wide as he is surrendering his beloved son to God.
This lyric to me is my way of telling God that I surrender myself to Him. I do not want to come before him with walls built up, clothed in my own dignity, and carried by my own strength. I want to come to him in a state of surrender with my arms wide open and allow Him to clothe me in His righteousness and with His joy.
Please stay tuned for my next lyrical breakdown! And in the meantime, check out my previous blogs about my future plans of returning to the field. You can donate at anytime by clicking on the fundraising bar at the top of this page!
