God is Real

Over the sound of the music and introduction, a man's voice is heard saying that he's "not gonna believe in anything [he] can't see." Then the song begins...

Heard a man on the radio today
I must confess, I disagree with what he had to say
How can he not believe that God is real?
I don’t understand how he could feel...that way...

These are the opening words to India.Arie’s song, God is Real. I hadn’t listened to this song in a very long time, but for some reason – I believe a DIVINE reason – the song began playing in my mind. I became so excited I could barely stand still.
As I went through my day, I kept taking moments and praising God, even going into the restroom at work, lifting my hands in the air and just thanking Him over and over again. I had no idea why my spirit was so full of joy all of a sudden, but I didn't question it. I just allowed the Spirit of God to fill me, energizing me and helping me to get through the day.

As I think back on the song, one thing stuck out profoundly. When the man's voice said, "I'm not gonna believe in anything I can't see," the first thing that came to my mind is, "Well, you can't see air, but you BELIEVE it's there, that it sustains you." I've often heard people make that same comment, that unless they can see something, they don't believe in it. And yet so many times, we believe in what we hear, what others tell us, what we see and read in the media...that's a whole 'nother issue I won't go into right now, but maybe at a later point. And much of the time, we are believing unconfirmed information, taking it at face value.

All of this is not by chance...

In her song, India.Arie shares her testimony of how SHE knows God is real. She sings about rainbows and the different colors of flowers, the earth, air, water, fire, mountains, volcanos, deep blue water that we can see neither the beginning nor the ending nor the depths. She sings about the fact the sun rises and sets every day without fail, and about all the beautiful creatures in the "cleansing waters of Saint Lucia."

Now I know that God is real
All of this is not by chance
It's how I know that God is real
None of this is by chance...

For some, to believe without being able to actually see it proven out is a foreign concept, especially in this day of science and technology. Some people fear what they can't see, and use that as the basis for what they will and will not accept or believe. However, the Bible tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." To put it more plainly, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1, NIV)

Yes, I know that God is real, and that He is omnipresent...He is everywhere. I can see Him in the sunrise and the sunset, in the rainbows, in the rain that falls, in the mountains, in the clear starry night and the billowing clouds and in the eyes of the aged. I can hear Him in the stillness of the predawn, in the crashing of waves at the water's edge, in the rustling of autumn leaves, in the laughter of a child, in the rolling thunder, and in the music I sing. And I can feel Him. I feel Him in the warmth of the sunshine, in the cool winds of Winter, in the touch of loved ones, in the kindness of strangers. I feel the love of God with a knowingness that encompasses me at all times, like a security blanket, and an assurance that, as the Bible says, he will never leave me nor forsake me. (Deuteronomy 31:6, KJV)

I believe that I now understand why this song, God is Real, was so heavily with me on that day last week, and I'll share that in a later post. I don't know whether India.Arie is a Christian, and I know she sings a wide range of songs. Still, I wholeheartedly agree with the words she wrote in this song, and the beautiful closing line:

I know that God's graces [spiritual blessing and divine favor] are real because it washes me new every day."

NOTE: All material in gray quote format are from the song "God is Real" by India.Arie

It's how I know that God is real
All of this is not by chance
Now I know that God is real
All of this is not by chance...