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"You're Still God to Me"

 
 
 

the story by
jade lundgren

While writing “You’re Still God To Me,” Zach Saltmarsh, Tobin Alford and I discussed how every persons’ story and walk with God is full of a myriad of ups and downs, each with their own blessings and challenges. We set out to capture the difficulties of our everyday human experience and the beauty of a life lived with God through it all. 

Here are a few words from the writers:

The Bible certainly does not shy away from the complexities of life. It is full of ordinary people like us who have moments of failure and situations that are worth facing. I was thinking about the unbearable situation involving Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. I can’t imagine how difficult their infertility was, in light of God’s promise to them. Not to mention, the rash move of involving Hagar in an attempt to solve their dilemma. Sarah suggested that Abraham have a child with Hagar, her maidservant. Complex to say the least.

Or David, a man after God’s heart, who it would be lovely to only paint as a holy, worship/songwriter hero. Yet King David chose to step into flagrant sin, taking a man’s wife and then having that man murdered. Much of the latter part of his life was spent dealing with the consequences of his sin, repentance, loss, and family turmoil. The list goes on and on. In both of these stories, God brought healing, help, and guidance. But not without the detours. The Bible is full of humans doing their best to walk with God, often failing miserably, and yet by grace, continuing on to serve God, be forgiven by God, and experience His love.

While the Bible does not shy away from the mess that we humans can make and God does not turn His back or close His arms to us, we still often feel the need to pretend that everything in life is going just fine. Why is that? Around the holidays, so many of us feel great pressure to make things beautiful, create memories, gather with loved ones, etc. When we are hiding, wrestling, and in pain, it’s especially hard to internally resolve the mixed bag of sadness and joy.

Between the pressures of social media, friend groups, church people, and even our own family, it’s comforting to know that our God, who knows us so intimately, is the One who is actually acquainted with every detail of our lives. He has felt our deepest sorrows, planned our greatest joys, and welcomes us to come to Him with all our good, bad, and ugly; He is writing a better story. It’s okay to wrestle with discordant emotions, but it’s better just to wrestle with God because He will always be more patient, kind, and good than we would ever be to ourselves. He is big enough to help us work through it all. Questions don’t scare Him, and He wins the battles.

The chorus of “You’re Still God to Me” starts with, “All my how longs” and “hallelujahs…” In Psalm 13, David cries out to God four times in a row, “How long?” Even Jesus Himself in Matthew 17 asks out loud, “How long do I have to stay with you? How long will I have to put up with you?” Consider this a reminder today that it’s okay to ask God “How long?” How long must I—“(fill-in-the-blank).” Ask Him all the questions.

The beauty, the redeeming factor of everything, is that we get to walk this life out WITH God. God WITH us. Immanuel. We have the comfort of knowing that we will face nothing by ourselves. God is all-powerful, all-capable, all-knowing, compassionate, gracious, so kind, and absolutely invested in us. Jesus, the man of sorrows, is fully acquainted with our grief. He welcomes us to come to Him with all that we have and all that we are. 

When it’s all said and done, I pray that the story of our lives will not be about how we lived perfectly or how everything worked out so beautifully for us. No, let the one magnificent thing about our lives be our God. Let everything else pale in comparison! Should there be any other good things that are witnessed, let us give glory to our Father; those are good gifts from Him. As for all the sore spots we will face, I pray that we take this to our caring God where we will receive His mercy and help.

“You’re Still God to Me” is my sincere and honest cry that no matter what happens, no matter what I face, whether I fly or fail, in all the things I’m able to make sense of and the things that feel confusing, God is right there with me. He is still God to me~Jade.

purchase “the band table” cd

 
 

you’re still god to me lyrics

Verse 1
Some stories tell so nicely
But others hard to read
I’ve been busy, I’ve been lonely
And all that’s in between
Had questions and sweet answers
Felt the pain of mystery
There’s no morning without nighttime
I have fought my best for peace

Pre Chorus 1
Oo, I hope I’m living proof
Oo, I walked it all with You

Chorus
All my how longs, hallelujahs
All my blessings, blessed be’s
Scaled the mountain
Faced the valley
Seen some good in everything
Through the stories and the seasons
There is one thing
You’re still God to me

Verse 2
The pages of this story
Holding joy and bearing grief
You remained the melody
When my heart felt off key
I still look to those around me
As if they’re the ones I need
I found that my place in life
Is every place we meet

Pre Chorus 2
Oo, I hope I’m living proof
Oo, I walked it all with You

Chorus 2
All my how longs, hallelujahs
All my blessings, blessed be’s
Scaled the mountain
Faced the valley
Seen some good in everything
Through the stories and the seasons
There is one thing
You’re still God to me

Tag 1
You’re still God to me

Pre Chorus 3
Oo, I hope I’m living proof
Oo, I walked it all with You
Oo, I hope I’m living proof
Oo, I walked it all with You

Chorus 3
All my how longs, hallelujahs
All my blessings, blessed be’s
Scaled the mountain
Faced the valley
Seen some good in everything
Through the stories and the seasons
There is one thing
You’re still God to me

Tag 2
You’re still God to me
You’re still God to me
You’re still God to me
You’re still God to me

 
 

jade lundgren Bio

Jade Lundgren is a deep well of an artist, passionate about all things creative, specifically singing, songwriting, and design. Rooted in her hometown, Jade is proud to be from Pittsburgh PA, where she and her husband have raised their three beautiful daughters. With an M.A. in Spiritual Formation from Wheaton College, and a love for theology, Jade can often be found reading books, studying, or quoting an early church father.

Her strong desire to know and teach the word of God well comes out in her songwriting. Currently a pastor at her local church, Jade has been leading worship for many years and started writing with Jennie Lee Riddle and the People & Songs family in 2012. In 2013, Jennie and Jade formed The Emerging Sound, where they collaborated with such artists as Micah Tyler, Lauren Daigle, Charity Gayle, and many others to pour into the next generation of songwriters. Jade is honored to be a part of the People & Songs team and The Band Table with fellow artists Jordan Merritt, Jonathan Lee McElhenney, and Cliff Preston.

“The crown jewel of my life is Jesus. He’s the high point, the whole point, and the most noteworthy thing about me. He interrupted the course of my normal teenage life, and at 16, opened my eyes to my need for a Savior and gave me the grace and courage to leave my normal life behind and follow Him. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I have happily dedicated my life to loving and serving God however He sees fit.”

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