“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God and so we are.” -1 John 3:1
“How Wonderful” was written while sitting on a curb outside of our house in Texas. I was about 15, helping my family pioneer a church in our hometown Baytown, Texas. Me, my older brother Jack and little sister Shelly helped with worship on Sundays and youth worship on Thursday nights. God was doing a lot of amazing things in our family and our city. Every youth service was growing more and more with each passing week. But not because we had a lot of entertainment or a great facility, we met in my aunt’s warehouse, a white tiled warehouse with florescent lighting and two speakers on sticks. But the one thing we did have, was a hunger to see Jesus change our friends and city the way He had been changing our family.
On this particular night in Baytown, the sky was unusually clear and I had seen two shooting stars within minutes of each other. I just started talking with God like He was right there with me, because in that moment I remember getting an intense feeling in His presence that He is my Abba, my Father. Right there, I just starting strumming in the key of G– singing and worshiping, and He gave me the chorus to “How Wonderful.” It was so special.
I showed the idea to my mom and dad the next day, and they loved it. My parents are two of the most anointed worship leaders I’ve ever known, and I have always run my songs by them first. If my mom cries or gives out a “whoo” then I know it’s good. After this, my brother, Jack, and I finished the song together. It was a special time in my life.
I find that some of the greatest songs come from the most unplanned moments– when your heart is bent on nothing less than communing and having relationship with your Father.
Jesus’s blood purchased our adoption into the family of God. His blood washes us of sin and flows through us, marking us His family, sons and daughters of Abba Father, maker of Heaven and Earth. We can never be rejected again, because He has chosen and accepted us since before the foundation of the world. He chose us first and loved us first since before time began– our joy is just to believe and receive His love.
“And to all who believed in Him, He gave them the right to become children of God.” -John 1:12