Why Are You Struggling There? (Ocean of Love)

Ages ago I wrote this song. It's called "Why Are You Struggling There?" (or alternatively, as my wife prefers, "Ocean of Love"). It's inspired by various personal thoughts and Bible passages regarding the love and salvation that we get when we turn to God.

I wrote the music using an application called "Melody Assistant" but never seemed to quite get around to recording the singing... However, earlier this year my wife and I had a (rare!) spare afternoon alone, so we grabbed the opportunity to record it at last. It's not a perfect rendition, but hopefully good enough for you to enjoy :)

Having recorded it, the next step was to bundle it into a video for YouTube - I considered various options for the accompanying visuals, and in the end decided that it would be fun show the music score as it is being played by Melody Assistant. There are quite a few staves in the music, so you really need to watch it in HD on a reasonably large screen if you actually want to be able to see the notes (and even then it may be a bit of a struggle!). By the way, I can't actually play any of the instruments involved - I just chose ones that sounded nice in Melody Assistant :) - I have no idea if it would be actually possible to play the various parts on real instruments (I suspect not in some cases!).

Anyway, enough waffle - here's the video...

... and here are the lyrics:

Men	Women
My feet were all blistered with hot baking sand, I struggled on forward through parched, barren land, I’d used my last strength to press on to the prize, The fruit of seduction on palm trees of lies.	My journey planned, Seeking a far, distant land, Hoping to win the prize, Aiming for highest skies.
But as I drew near it began to unfold, That all of the fruit that I once could behold, Were shimmering mists that had vanished away, No lakes of refreshment just, dry beds of clay.	But dreams grow cold, Rainbows just don’t lead to gold, Hopes dreamed along the way, Seem to all fade away.
But then, in the midst of my deepest despair, A voice strong as thunder yet gentle with care, Swept over my shoulder and sung 'round my head, It tugged on my heart and my soul as it said:	A lonely tear, Head hung in weary despair, That’s where my journey led, Until a calm voice said:
"Why are you struggling there? Come – I bring joy, not despair. Come to my family above, Come to my ocean of love."
I turned slowly round and I saw standing there, With face like the sun and with flowing white hair, The Almighty God; the Magnificent King, The Ruler of Heaven and Everything.	I turned around to see The Lamb of Calvary, The Prince of Eternity, The King of Kings, the Almighty.
The fire in His eyes and His sword wielding hand, They filled me with dread and I fell to the sand, But then on my shoulder His hand gently pressed, And wonderful calmness and warmth filled my chest:	But when I saw His might, His dazzling face of light, I fell to my knees in dread, But He reached down and tenderly said:
"Stand up there’s no need to fear, Rise and let Me draw you near, Sing, your salvation is here, Dance with the joy that we’ll share."
He lifted me out of that miserable place, With ruby-red blood He cleansed all my disgrace, Poured open His heart so that I could be free, And carried me home to His land ‘cross the sea.
Now free from the desert of endless defeat, I'm walking in sunlight, but not burning heat, For gushing and bubbling around at my feet, Are rivers of love that flow down from His seat.
So friend if your soul longs for meaning and light, Your heart wants to sing and to dance with delight, If you’ll stop and listen, if you’ll turn to see, You’ll hear the same words that He once said to me:
"Why are you struggling there? Come – I bring joy, not despair. Come to my family above, Come to my ocean of love."
"Stand up there’s no need to fear, Rise and let Me draw you near, Sing, your salvation is here, Dance with the joy that we’ll share."
“Come to my family above, Come to my ocean of love."

 

Two Things For Christians To Be Sure Of

It seems to me that Christianity is becoming more and more marginalised in Western culture. This means that we are more and more likely to be the target of opposition and/or persecution.

One result of this is that people who see themselves as Christians, but are "nominal" or "half-hearted" about it, are more likely to be forced to make a decision one way or the other - will I stand up for Jesus in spite of opposition, or will I just follow whatever happens to be popular at the moment?

One possible way to "test" whether I am "nominal" or not is to consider two key things:

1. Do I really believe in God?
2. Do I have a genuine love for God?

To answer the first of these, think about this: when someone challenges your belief, or presents something that could be considered to be contrary evidence, how do you react? If you react defensively or emotionally, then you should check whether your belief is really founded on a "wish" rather than on solid evidence. Are you genuinely interested in seeking truth, or are you just wanting to protect your belief?

I recommend that you embrace your doubts, investigate other points of view and face the possibility that your cherished beliefs may be wrong. Then you can come out the other side with a much stronger belief that is based on fact rather than on wishing.

To answer the second, consider your attitude towards chocolate (or, if you are one or the few people who doesn't like chocolate, something else that you do like/love). How often do you make excuses to avoid "having to" eat a piece of chocolate? Or do you rather (since chocolate is not really that good for you) make excuses or rationalisations that allow you to eat more of it? Similarly, if there is someone that you really like and love, do you make excuses so you can avoid spending time with them? Or do you look forward to, and seek out, opportunities to be with them?

What about your relationship with God - do you make excuses to avoid interacting with Him? Are you thankful if something comes up that prevents you from attending church meetings?

If so, maybe you don't really love God. If that is the case, then I recommend that you prayerfully focus on learning how to develop a love relationship with Him (rather than one that is based on a sense of duty or guilt). This book that I wrote a while back has some ideas for how to develop a relationship with God that is based on love: Would You Like To Sin More And Still Get To Heaven - but there are also many other resources and people around who will be able to help you develop that kind of relationship with Him.

So in summary, look at yourself and consider the strength of your belief in, and love for, God. If both are strong, you will have a strong foundation on, and connection to, the One who can carry you through any opposition that may come your way. If they are weak, then maybe you should ask God to help you do something about them - after all, failure to do so could have eternal consequences.