My favorite songs and what they mean to me: "Slow" by Audrey Assad

I decided that I wanted to start posting some of my favorite worship songs and explain why they're so poignant to me, so this is a new series called, "My favorite songs and what they mean to me."

The first song is by Audrey Assad and is called Slow. Here are the lyrics:

You've drawn so close

That it's hard to see you

And you speak so softly

That it's hard to hear you

And I guess that's what I get

For inviting you in

Because you took me at my word

And now I know

Faith is not a fire

As much as it's a glow

A quiet lovely burning

Underneath the snow

And it's not too much

It's just enough to get me home

Cause love moves slow

Love moves slow

You've grown so dear

That it's hard to miss you

And you've come so near

That it's hard to feel you

But I guess that's how it is

When I let you move

Because you take me at my word

Oh, and now I know

That faith is not a fire

As much as it's a glow

A steady humble lamplight

In the window

And it's not too much

It's just enough to get me home

Cause love moves slow

Love moves slow

I heard that faith moves mountains

I know it moves my feet

To follow you

Well maybe I'm a mountain

Because it's moving me

To follow you

My faith is not a fire

As much as it's a glow

A little burning ember

In my weary soul

And it's not too much

It's just enough to get me home

Because your love moves slow

Yeah, your love moves slow

So I move slow

Because you move slow

Love moves slow

Let's move slow

The main point of this song, in my opinion, can be summed up in the part that says, "Faith is not a fire as much as it's a glow."

Some may find this notion offensive, like faith that is anything less than a fiery blaze is somehow sacrilegious. Others may think that if my faith is just a glow then I don't have very much of it. Neither of these is true.

As I truly listened and thought about the words of the song, I realized this is an exact description of how my faith has changed through the years.

When you see a fire, you're immediately struck by the color, the light, the brilliance of it. It is eye-catching, yes, but it is also unstable. That same fire that can burn so bright and strong can also be easy to contain or even put out. Strong winds or rains can easily and quickly douse the beautiful, dancing flames.

But if you look at the coals, the embers of a fire, the glow at the base of the flames, you see something very different. Those embers are where the most heat is stored and they burn more steadily than any fire ever could. It takes a very heavy downpour to even touch a glowing coal and heavy winds only serve to stir the fire within and make it live again as flames.

In other words, a blazing fire may keep you warm and get you through the coldest winter, but exposure to wind and rain will kill the flame and leave you to die from the cold. But deeply glowing embers can not only bring you warmth but are mostly impervious to rain and are made stronger with high winds.

If you think of the fire as your love for and faith in God, you can see the analogy begin to unfold. When we are young, our faith is like that blazing fire; hot, colorful, and beautiful to see. But because we only have those flames, any pain or suffering (rain and wind) we endure will immediately crush our faith (put out the fire).

However, if we keep our faith through trials and tribulations (continue to light that fire, even after it goes out) then our faith becomes that deeply burning ember which can only be made deeper and hotter by the suffering that we endure.

I don't just think this anymore; it's not just a concept, it's what happened to me. I have been through many horrors in my life, things that would break most people, that would douse those flames and force them to never even think of lighting them once again. But somehow those embers have never completely died.

Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I thought it had gone out. There were long stretches of time when I refused to light the flame, even when I was shivering in the cold. There have even been times when the embers grew so small that only the tiniest light could be seen.

But they have never gone out completely, and I thank God for that because it's Him that continued to fan the flame when I couldn't. I don't know what I would have done without Him; how I would have survived the cold of His absence amidst the torrential rain and winds that I have suffered through.

Not only has He helped me through some of the hardest things a person can experience, but He has blessed me with more wisdom about His character and His love for His children than most people receive in a lifetime. So, like Paul, I thank God for the pain and suffering I've experienced because it has taught me who He is and made me who I am.

2 Corinthians 2:7-10 (NASB)

"...Because of the extraordinary greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, on behalf of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong."