Another song comparison :) Both songs rank among my favourites, and one is yet again from Plumb.
***
Don't Deserve You - Plumb
You're the first face that I see
And the last thing I think about
You're the reason that I'm alive
You're what I can't live without (x2)
You never give up
When I'm falling apart
Your arms are always open wide
You're quick to forgive
When I make a mistake
You love me in the blink of an eye
I don't deserve You now
But You give it to me anyway
Can't get enough
You're everything I need
And when I walk away
You take off running and come right after me
It's what You do
And I don't deserve You
You're the light inside my eyes
You give me reason to keep trying
You give me more than I could dream
And You bring me to my knees (x2)
Your heart is gold and how am I the one
That You've chosen to love
I still can't believe that You're right next to me
After all that I've done
I don't deserve a chance like this
I don't deserve a love that gives me everything
You're everything I want
(Listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMt2hw62374)
Not A Bad Thing - Justin Timberlake
Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow
And every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart
And is it too much to ask for every Sunday
And while we're at it, throw in every other day to start
Now how about I’d be the last voice you hear tonight?
And every other night for the rest of the nights that there are
Every morning I just wanna see you staring back at me
'Cause I know that’s a good place to start
***
I found it interesting how both speak about starting and ending each day with that significant 'Other'.
Psalm 63:1,6 O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water...When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
Psalm 92:1-2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night...
I guess that's a challenge - can I, can we, start and end every day with a heart of thankfulness, of gratitude, and of awe and wonder in contemplation of everything with which we have been blessed? In the midst of the despair and hopelessness that surrounds us, be it through the senseless school shootings in America, the ongoing civil conflict in Syria and South Sudan, the terrible tragedy of persecuted saints such as Meriam Ibrahim and the escalating violence and tension wrought by the Boko Harem, Al-Shabaab and so on, can we take a moment to meditate on God's glory and trust that He will ultimately make it all right? Being cynical and rational is all very well and fine, but where does it lead us? Absolutely nowhere. Hope in God, now that's a different story.
Thursday 29 May 2014
Tuesday 27 May 2014
The necessity of needing
For those wondering, I've been back to "normal" life over the past four months in both KL (Malaysia) and Melbourne (Australia). The "real" world, as opposed to the suspended reality that one finds oneself in on short-term mission trips (as in one-week church camps or two-month vacation hiatus), has this inbuilt ability to suck one into its vortex of the daily grind of work, the obligatory time with family and friends, attempts at planning for the long-term future, and so on.
Not to discount their importance, but it does beg the question - what is, or what should be, one's centre in our ephemeral "threescore years and ten" (Psalm 90:10, aka seventy years)? Which is the element that grounds you and brings you back every time you are at a loss? Do I embark on my travels around the globe to escape this rat race, or do I go back to climbing the social and corporate ladders to escape the starkness of economic inequality and human right abuses that plague the majority world? Can I have both? Should I want either?
In any case, I found it interesting to contrast the following two songs, both of which I'm rather fond (although for quite different reasons):-
***
Need You Now (How Many Times) - Plumb
How many times have You heard me cry out
'God, please take this'
How many times have You given me strength
To just keep breathing
Oh, I need You
God, I need You now!
Standing on a road I didn't plan
Wondering how I got to where I am
I'm trying to hear that still, small voice
I'm trying to hear above the noise
Oh I walk, oh I walk through the shadows
And I, I was so afraid
Please stay, please stay right beside me
With every single step I take
(Listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnx0NA9X4)
I Wouldn't Need You - Norah Jones
If I touched myself the way you touched me
If I could hold myself the way you held me
Then I wouldn't need you
I wouldn't need you
No, I wouldn't need you
To love me
If I could replace the things you gave me
If I could see my face without the tragedy
But I do
So come back, come back!
***
The first song is by the prodigously talented Tiffany Arbuckle Lee and apparently elaborates on her struggle with anxiety and panic attacks whereas the second song is by Norah Jones - who I believe hardly requires introduction - and is obviously about a (possibly dysfunctional) relationship between a couple. I guess what struck me the most is how even though both songs are from the point of view of the singer desperately needing that 'Other' (be it divine or human), the underlying reasons couldn't be more different. The former deals with a need that is primitive in its life-and-death context (whether that entails a physical, mental or spiritual threat) while the latter could be said to be self-centred in its focus on the benefits that the lover brings and how this relationship could become superfluous if only these benefits could be divorced from its giver.
Do we need God in the first or second sense? If I could have all the blessings that He showers us with day in day out, would I still want Him?
Jeremiah 2:9,11-13 "Therefore I will bring charges against you," says the Lord, "...Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate," says the Lord. "For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water."
Not to discount their importance, but it does beg the question - what is, or what should be, one's centre in our ephemeral "threescore years and ten" (Psalm 90:10, aka seventy years)? Which is the element that grounds you and brings you back every time you are at a loss? Do I embark on my travels around the globe to escape this rat race, or do I go back to climbing the social and corporate ladders to escape the starkness of economic inequality and human right abuses that plague the majority world? Can I have both? Should I want either?
In any case, I found it interesting to contrast the following two songs, both of which I'm rather fond (although for quite different reasons):-
***
Need You Now (How Many Times) - Plumb
How many times have You heard me cry out
'God, please take this'
How many times have You given me strength
To just keep breathing
Oh, I need You
God, I need You now!
Standing on a road I didn't plan
Wondering how I got to where I am
I'm trying to hear that still, small voice
I'm trying to hear above the noise
Oh I walk, oh I walk through the shadows
And I, I was so afraid
Please stay, please stay right beside me
With every single step I take
(Listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnx0NA9X4)
I Wouldn't Need You - Norah Jones
If I touched myself the way you touched me
If I could hold myself the way you held me
Then I wouldn't need you
I wouldn't need you
No, I wouldn't need you
To love me
If I could replace the things you gave me
If I could see my face without the tragedy
But I do
So come back, come back!
***
The first song is by the prodigously talented Tiffany Arbuckle Lee and apparently elaborates on her struggle with anxiety and panic attacks whereas the second song is by Norah Jones - who I believe hardly requires introduction - and is obviously about a (possibly dysfunctional) relationship between a couple. I guess what struck me the most is how even though both songs are from the point of view of the singer desperately needing that 'Other' (be it divine or human), the underlying reasons couldn't be more different. The former deals with a need that is primitive in its life-and-death context (whether that entails a physical, mental or spiritual threat) while the latter could be said to be self-centred in its focus on the benefits that the lover brings and how this relationship could become superfluous if only these benefits could be divorced from its giver.
Do we need God in the first or second sense? If I could have all the blessings that He showers us with day in day out, would I still want Him?
Jeremiah 2:9,11-13 "Therefore I will bring charges against you," says the Lord, "...Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate," says the Lord. "For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water."
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