A short time ago, I was poignantly reminded that one of the beauties of poetry, or in the case of the intended subject of this blog, lyrics, is the meaning that captures your heart and demands your attention, even though the meaning you derived isn’t necessarily the intended one. But because your attention has been seized, a little time and thought enable you to come around to and benefit from the intended meaning.

Case in point: It is possible that my life may soon undergo a major upheaval. I would rather it not. I’m not necessarily a fan of upheaval, or even dramatic change. The situation has been on my mind, of course, and was weighing on me heavily on a Sunday in November when I was participating on our church’s worship team. One song in particular was really tearing me up.

I will never be the same again.
I can never return, I’ve closed the door.
I will walk the path; I’ll run the race,
And I will never be the same again. -- (Geoff Bullock)

Now, what struck me at that point was just thinking about never being the same again, and about having to close the door. I was thinking of how that door would be closing on a situation that has been life-influencing if not exactly life-changing. A situation that I didn't really want to be in in the first place. However, I have come to be not only content but happy, and frankly I don’t want that door closed by essentially reversing the situation.

But I was, of course, missing the point. The song continues:

There are higher heights; there are deeper seas.
Whatever You need to do, Lord, do it in me!
The glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again.

I was needing to be reminded of that "whatever You need to do" part. I don’t like that part as much. It’s fine to sing about, but to really submit to it? That can be painful.

Sweep away the darkness; burn away the chaff

Yet I am so thankful that God pointed out to me what the actual point of the song was. It still made me sad, and I still cried through the end of sound check, but it is forcing me, even still, to examine myself and confront things in my nature that need put to death.

Because of the frame of mind I was in, there were other snatches in that Sunday’s collection of songs that made me mindful of my potential upheaval, but as I came to realize that I needed to get my head straight about the real point of “I Will Never Be the Same Again,” I realized that I was really missing the point of things in several places. Our worship leaders construct the song lineup around a theme, and I realized I needed to consult my lead sheet and see what the theme of the day was intended to be. “I Belong to Jesus.”

We place You in the highest place above all else -- (Kirk Dearman)

Oh. Yeah. That’s right. I belong to Him and am supposed to be His to do with as He wills. Everywhere I go, He is to be in the highest place.

You are my strength when I am weak, you are my all-in-all. (Dennis Jernigan)

And because I belong to Jesus, He will take care of the upheaval. As I so frequently told my children when they were little, we don’t have to have our own way all the time to be happy. It’s time for me to mean it.

The Joy of the Lord will be my strength
He will uphold me all of my days (Twila Paris)

Whether the circumstances I would rather avoid come to pass or not, He will be with me. If I’m cast into a lonely situation, He will uphold me. I can continue fretting, or I can be appropriately sad for losses I might be facing while seizing the opportunity to trust, cling to, and follow Him and come through knowing Him better, obeying Him better, and loving Him better.