Song Break Down- Never Gone

"Never Gone" by Colton Dixon is one of my favorite songs. When I first heard the song on K-Love, I was going through a hard time at school with my grades, and the song was a reminder that God was there with me through that time in my life, and that he is still with me to this day. I really liked the use of a metaphor with the kid in the dark, and our faith. The first verses goes, "Lights off, a shot in the dark/We get lost when we’re playing a part/We lay blame like we know what’s best/It’s a shame…" There have been many times in my life where I would want God to step in and "turn on the lights" so that I could see every thing that was going on, and know that every thing was going to be fine, and it is a shame that I don't trust God fully like I say that I do. But God does have a reason for not immediately turning on the lights. If he was going to turn on the lights every time that we needed him, then how would our faith grow. I actually found a great verse on what faith is. In Hebrews 11:1 it says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Faith is believing in what we do not see. It is by our faith that we believe in the fact that God is always with us. The chorus of the song goes, "I’m still standing here/No I didn’t disappear/Now the lights are on/See I was never gone/I let go of your hand/To help you understand/With you all along/Oh, I was never gone." The chorus is talking from God's perspective on how he never left us. We can't see Him, but it is by our faith that we know that he is there. It is by our faith, that we know that his son died for us on that cross, and that he rose three days later. It is by our faith that we know that the Holy Spirit was sent to be with us and to help strengthen us.  Now I was reading Hebrews 11, and I found that the whole section talks about faith. As I was reading it I found a theme, and it was the use of the words "by faith." Every time that the author would talk about a new person, he wouldn't talk about their actions as much as he would talk about their faith, and them believing in what they could not see. It talked about Abraham's faith in God when he went to go sacrifice his son. It talked about Noah's faith when he built an ark, even though it didn't look light a flood was going to happen.  It talked about Moses faith when God helped him part the red sea. But my question is, "What about your faith?" We all reach points in our life, when we can't find an explanation for what is going on, or the world seems like it is out to get us. Do you have the faith to believe that God is still there even in the darkness, like the song talks about? Do you have faith that God has a plan for your life, like he had a plan for Abraham's, Noah's, and Moses's life? Do you have that faith? These trials that we face aren't there for nothing. They are there to help us grow in our faith. James 1:2-4 says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." The more that your faith is tested, the more that God leaves the lights off, that is what allows us to grow, so that our faith may become steadfast through any situation. With a steadfast faith, we will be able to do the will that God has for us, and we can go knowing that we have everything we need through our faith. So this week, I challenge you to go through the trials in your life, not asking for God to rush in and turn on the lights, but that your faith may grow to know that he is there.  Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for not always stepping in and turning on the lights. I pray that as I grow through the trials of my life that my faith can grow so that I can be steadfast in any situation Thank you for always being there even when I can't feel you. Thank you. Amen.