Tale of Two Songs

A few days ago I was listening to music on the radio as I drove home from running errands. Tapping my steering wheel, I sang along to Chris Tomlin's hit, "Holy is the Lord." I have always found the lyrics to be sweetly simple and completely compelling:

"We stand and lift up our hands,
For the joy of the Lord is our strength.
We bow down and worship Him now,
How great, how awesome is He!

And together we sing:

(Chorus)
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory"


The song ended and a series of commercials began. While scanning to see if my other favorite Christian radio station was currently commercial-less, I stumbled upon a song that had a particularly energizing beat. Listening for a minute, I was struck by how different these lyrics were from the ones I had just finished listening to:


"You change your mind
Like a girl changes clothes

Cause you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in and you're out
You're up and you're down

You're wrong when it's right
It's black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up" ("Hot N Cold", by Katy Perry)

The combination of those two songs really made me sit and think about the spiritual battle being waged in our world today.

When we put our hopes in the world, we don't know what we're going to get back. Something or someone we feel we can rely and depend on may be completely different from one day to the next.

But God, in His infinite Holiness, is unchanging. We don't need to depend on our own strength, because He is our strength. We don't need to worry about who will be there for us tomorrow, because He is with us always.

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17)

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8)

"But You, O LORD, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end." (Psalm 102:12,25-28)