by Jade Broadley
What has been the worship song on your
heart this month? (October)
Lion and the
Lamb - Leeland
Lyrics:
Verse 1
He's coming on the clouds, kings and
kingdoms will bow down
And every chain
will break, as broken hearts declare His praise
Who can stop the Lord Almighty?
Chorus
Our God is the Lion, the Lion of
Judah
He's roaring with power and fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before You
Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain
For the sin of the world, His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Oh every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Verse 2
So open up the gates, make way before
the King of kings
Our God who calls the saved is here to set the captives free
Who can stop the Lord Almighty?
Why is this song meaningful to you?
I first heard
this song in a huge arena in Nashville (maybe that’s partly why I love it so
much!) A worship leader shared about how he had played this song when he was
really struggling after his brother was involved in a serious accident, and it
was uncertain if he would recover. During those moments, he admitted that he
didn’t know if he still believed in God, and certainly didn’t feel like singing
about God’s goodness amidst the tragedy. But instead of relying on His own
thoughts and feelings, he chose to trust in what God had said through
scripture.
“This song is about our Savior, Jesus, who overcame the grave. It's about submitting all of ourselves to Him and His goodness and allowing His blood to cover us and run through our veins. That's how we can "overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony."- Leeland Mooring
Although I haven't struggled with such extreme
doubts, there have certainly been moments where I have wondered about the
goodness of God. Trying to make sense of my past, and especially those moments
where I wandered far from God and really caused harm to myself and others. It
has caused me not to ask the question was
He there? but rather, is He good? When
I'm questioning, and my thoughts and emotions can be all over the place, songs
like this one lead me back to scripture where I am reminded of God's goodness
and all of His promises. That yes He
is good, yes He is faithful, and yes I am His.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:10-11
Are there any particular lines of the
song which strike you?
The title of
the song itself ‘Lion and the Lamb’,
already strikes me in revealing the wondrous and amazing nature of God; that He
is both gentle and mighty, and always on our side. The idea of God being both a
Lion and a Lamb is actually incredible when you think about it - that He has
the power to create with one word, or change any situation with one command.
Yet, at the same time, He desires to be with us so badly that He laid down His
life for us and became the lamb that was slain. He is both the mighty roaring
lion, and the gentle, approachable lamb. He is absolutely everything that we
need.
“It's an amazing picture of how we tremble at His power and might and glory, and at the same time He is tender like a Lamb. It is amazing that He is both to us, for us and with us.” – Leeland Mooring
Another
particular line in the song that really stands out to me is: “He’s roaring with power and fighting our
battles.” Woah - what a reminder (that I continually need) - that our God
isn’t a passive God. He is alive and
actively fighting for us every day.
Even when our culture seems so dark and against us, we have the King of Heaven
on our side, so there is nothing to fear! When I look back on my own faith
journey the only conclusion that I can draw from where God has brought me from
and led me to is that He has always been
fighting for me. His ferocious love was the very thing that brought me into
existence, came down into the pit of my life, and showed me another way of living. Truly,
who can stop the Lord
Almighty?.
"They will follow the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west." - Hosea 11:10
Are there any scriptural passages that
you think of when listening to this song?
One of my
all-time favourite passages in scripture that I’m reminded of through this song is about the woman with a
haemorrhage, who
was instantly healed after simply touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5: 25-34, Luke: 43-48).
The part that always gets to me though is how she had been desperately seeking
healing for 12 years. 12 whole years.
I wonder how often during those years she wondered about God, and why He wasn’t
fighting for her healing, as many of us
do during our own personal struggles. Then boom - one day, one touch, and
she was healed. All of that fighting, all of the struggle, all of the pain and
shame, redeemed in one single encounter with Jesus Christ in her small, relatively
unknown village.
At the Walsingham festival this summer, this
passage was read during the healing service. Whilst I've been to many of these
services before, each one is always so beautiful and unique; because Jesus is
alive and moving in our midst. Something that stood out to me this year was the
incredible faith that this woman must have had to have kept going for all of
those years, and keep trusting in God’s goodness and mercy for her, despite not
knowing if her circumstance would change. Jesus was her only hope, and when she
had the courage to reach out and touch His cloak,
"Jesus turned, and seeing her said - Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well."
It was HER faith in Him that healed her. Jesus longed to heal her, but waited
for HER to reach out and touch Him – that simple act of her faith was the biggest
miracle needed to cure her.
When the road seems ridiculously long without
answers or a solution and it seems like things will never change, or perhaps
takes you to places you never could have imagined, we just have to keep
reaching out for the hem of Jesus' cloak, one moment at a time. We have to keep
trusting that in God's timing, He will reveal a plan for us that will be the
most fulfilling journey we can ever make.
Who would you recommend this song to?
I would really
recommend this song to anyone who’s been waiting for God to speak into an area
of their life for a while. Maybe into a relationship that feels hopeless, or
into a habit or way of thinking that’s really difficult to change. God wants to
share His heart with you, and to let you know that He is fighting for you. He is on your side. Don’t lose hope!
Are there any similar songs on this
theme that you would recommend?
On this theme,
another current favourite worship song is ‘Confident’ by Steffany Gretzinger.
There’s a brilliant line in it that declares; “I won’t win this battle with the strength of my own hands.” How
often do I need this reminder!!
Prayer to end on:
Dear Lord,
Let us never forget your infinite strength coupled with your
unfailing tenderness and love.
The Lion and the Lamb; You powerfully overcome
and comfort us through every battle we face; and we surrender all our current
doubts, struggles and fears to you.
You alone are worthy of all praise and
glory – and we will never stop trusting in Your goodness and plans for us.
elp
us to stay close to You in the darkest of days, and shine your light onto us to
give us strength.
Nurture our trust and hope in you, and let us love you more
with each passing day.
Amen
The first time I ever heard this song was at the 2017 Walsingham festival. At this festival I was at the lowest point in my life, I had no idea why I wanted to do, I was discerning my vocation( I am still discerning but with a better approach), applying for jobs and getting rejected and all of that, in a nutshell it was a bad point of my life.
ReplyDeleteI remember standing and singing from the lyrics projected on the screen and I’m like; rah so songs can actually speak to you?
It felt like the lyrics was a note written to me.
This song gave me assurance that God was fighting my battles, rather than being uncertain and all I needed to trust in God, out my hands up and let his will be done.
This line of the song;”Our God is the lamb, the lamb that was slain.”-this moved me to tears every time I heard it, thinking of Jesus on the cross being killed for our sins is one thing I rarely do. I tend to forget or imagine what he must have been through for us.