Holy moments with Andrew Peterson

My love for the lyrics and music of Andrew Peterson has been well documented on this blog. Well, today, friends, I got to interview him for my work.

And let’s just say, I started this day in a complete and total funk. I hadn’t slept well. Again. And while the waking up in the middle of the night is getting old, the racing of my mind is getting older. Most of you are at least aware that I’ve been going through one of those valleys in my spiritual life. A lot of the time, I simply feel faithless and far from God. This Easter, I found myself unable to connect with the story, unsure of who I was in Christ, and riddled with fear and doubt. And I’ve felt as absolutely alone as I have ever felt in my life, crying out to a God I know loves unfailingly and a Savior I know understands this pain because He lived on this earth. Yet, still, the humanity of Christ—the very thing that has always drawn me to His love and truth—seemed far away and hard to understand. Because I believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God. I believe He walked this earth and drew disciples to His side and showed us the kind of life God wants us to live. I believe He was sinless. I believe He died on a cross for my sin. And I believe He rose again and sits at the right hand of God, interceding, understanding, hearing my desperate cries. I know these truths. But I’ve felt lost in them, forgotten, fearful, overcome, broken.

So, today, we sat down with Andrew to talk about his album Resurrection Letters: Volume II. And we were discussing my (and his) favorite song on the album, “The Good Confession.” And he said so simply in a way only Andrew can, that (paraphrased) “at least in the moment I wrote that song, I know I believed.” Because he knows this is the truth; he knows this is the power to live a changed life; and sometimes, he still feels broken. “I can’t deny that I believe whether I want to or not,” he said simply, quietly, peacefully.

And those words were like balm to my heart. Because I have felt the hand of a God who won’t let go of me, of a Savior who says He loves me and has called me to more these past few weeks. That I can’t let go of the truth that I know gives me life. That there is a God who knows my name, knows my hurts, and loves me—when I’m near and when I far away. That I can’t deny that I believe whether I want to or not. That God has already overcome sin and death in my life through Jesus and is calling me to freedom—that I need to let Him pour over me in overwhelming waves. On a day when I had prayed that God’s presence and truth would be made very clear to me, He was faithful to answer—in the quiet words of a singer/songwriter who doesn’t know me at all.