“How great the chasm that lay between us How high the mountain I could not climb In desperation, I turned to Heaven And spoke Your name into the night…
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There’s salvation in Your name Jesus Christ, my living hope”
How wonderful is it that in the desperation of life, faced with unsurmountable challenges, we have a Living Hope whom we can call out to?
We sing the song Living Hope by Phil Wickham often in the 2nd Worship Service on Sundays. But what does that song mean in a practical sense?
The writer starts with 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Back in 2018, before Phil released this song, his friend Brian Johnson, a worship leader sent him a voice message. Brian had been struggling with severe anxiety and depression, a journey he later wrote about in his book “When God Becomes Real”.
A melody came to him, which he hummed over a voice message to Phil. This was the start of a 200-text message exchange back and forth, with lyrics, biblical passages, and melodies exchanged.
Central to the lyrics was the story of the Gospel, moving from the darkness of sin into the light of the resurrection.
“Then came the morning that sealed the promise, Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion declared the grave has no claim on me!” – how powerful is that.
Many times, in our busy lives, we struggle with challenges of all sorts. But how wonderful is it that the hymns of old, and newer songs alike have the power to heal. The warm gentle reminder that there is a Living Hope we can call upon.
And that redemption is there free. We have been redeemed. There’s nothing that we need to do in order to receive that Living Hope. All we need to do is to call out to Him who is able.
Deacon Theodore Lai
