I believe that every community and city has a song — a sound and a heartbeat. Part of our privilege as artists, minstrels and writers is to be able to connect to that heart song, expressing it through sound and lyrics to God, and likewise from God back to His people.
Anthems declare history; poems and lyrics give language to hearts; and melodies create sonic space for Heaven to ride in with all of its wonder and promise.
I believe that Jesus’ testimony of each city carries an imperative piece of the whole of the redemption story. When we lean in to listen to what He is saying about a person, people group, or nation, it comes in the form of a Perfect Counselor and Coach, cheering humanity on to find Him in every alley, every church, every governmental building and infrastructure. I believe that songs are invitations, exclamations, the heartfelt speech at a turning point of every story when redemption starts to have its way.
Songs are funnels for the light of heaven to shine in every dark space.
There is a pulse to every living thing, and to me a song of the city and for the city is a pulse of a place that we get to listen to in the very chest of God.
Being a part of Bethel Music Worship Nights is a really special experience, because we get to partner with each community and sing their song over their city. Out of these beautiful experiences, I’ve received a lot of revelation and inspiration when it comes to my own songwriting. I wrote “You Don’t Miss A Thing” a couple of years ago during Worship Nights in New York. It was my first time in that bustling, busy, wild and impressive city. I was feeling the sheer magnitude of standing in the heart of a city that is so flux with people, that I could easily loose myself and be forgotten in the shuffle. I felt the desire of wanting to be seen and known as a person and not a number. And I felt God lean in to answer that longing as He always does, with His omnipresent presence, filling the room and clouding like a plume onto the city streets.
I started to sink into the awareness that we have always had His full attention. It felt as thought there had never been another moment where I knew with such clarity that we’re so seen and known by Him. Then came the overwhelming magnitude of something being so important to God, that He would pause time for us to understand it. I started singing as a response to this revelation the phrase: ‘I am seen, I am known, by the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.’ This became a song for me, for us, for New York, for the whole of humanity. He misses nothing, He is God, wildly un-contained, sustaining all living things, and more present and personal than we ever thought.
Amanda will be on the road for Worship Nights in September with many of the other Bethel Music worship leaders as they travel through North Eastern USA + Canada. Learn more here.