Learning to breathe in the Abundant Sky

Hello, good morning, how you do?
What makes your rising sun so new?
I could use a fresh beginning too
All of my regrets are nothing new
So this is the way that I say I need You
This is the way that I'm

Learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that You and You alone can break my fall
I'm living again, awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

Hello, good morning, how you been?
Yesterday left my head kicked in
I never, never thought that
I would fall like that
Never knew that I could hurt this bad

[Chorus]

So this is the way I say I need You
This is the way that I say I love You
This is the way that I say I'm Yours
This is the way, this is the way

The steadfast love of the Lᴏʀᴅ never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)

I was asked to choose a song which reflects my life right now. A worship song.

That's quite a tough one, I mean, I cannot recall any particular song I sang in church which captures the state of things perfectly. 

Well, that was when I recalled this song. It isn't a worship song but as you can see, it's obviously Christian. Let's talk about the song first. 

Hello Good Morning how you do?

What makes your rising sun so new?

I'm not sure what this verse means. I can only guess that there is a remarkable difference between a person who wakes up and finds the day mundane, as ever, a repetition of what's been going on for years. The sun rises but it's the same old thing, and a person who wakes up to a new morning everyday. It sounds so much like his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.

The rising sun is new every morning for those who know of God's unending mercies. 

So in a sense this song feels like a reflection on how this verse plays out in the life of someone. How does one live cognizant of the fact that God's love never ceases nor his mercies ever end? 

This is the way that I say I need you

I'm not quite sure what the way is here. "The way" can be something which was already mentioned: is it seeing the rising sun as new? Is it the having of regrets? Maybe both? 

But certainly, the same way is being equated with what comes later

Learning to Breathe

Learning to Crawl

Finding that you and you alone can break my fall

I'm living again, awake and alive

I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. 

This chorus talks about fundamentals. Learning to breathe is so fundamental we don't even usually talk about it. I have a hunch that learning to breathe is almost equivalent to "learning how to live". Learning to crawl gives an imagery of a child. The first steps of a baby is crawl. We say learn to walk before you run and certainly we ought to learn how to crawl before we walk. Again, these things seem to be really basic stuff. 

It seems that, this "the way" is talking about the fundamentals of Christian living. The writer is saying that he is finally learning the basics, the breathing and crawling, of living as a Christian. 

Maybe it's both then, seeing the rising sun as new- God's mercies never come to an end and they are new every morning. Only the hopeful can see each morning as new, separate from the baggage of the past. Only those who are acquainted with the never-ending mercies of God have real reason to be hopeful. 

Maybe it's also the regrets, the confession that I could use a fresh beginning too. This, we call repentance. 

Putting it together: this is the way I say I need you, we can confess our need of God by trusting and repenting. 

So this is the way I say I need You
This is the way that I say I love You
This is the way that I say I'm Yours
This is the way, this is the way

The song progresses and in the bridge it elaborates about the way. The very same way is also the way to love and confess the Lordship of God. 

Now, why did I choose this song? A few reasons really, I haven't thought them through thoroughly but I thought I'd just try to list them out. 

1) Ungratefulness. This is perhaps the thing which prevents us from considering the endless mercies of God. We simply don't think that there is any to speak of, of if there were, they're not much to write home about. How has ungratefulness played out in my life? Well, for starters, unwilling participation in some of the ministries God has placed me in. How is this ungratefulness? I think it's that I don't serve Him eagerly because I simply don't thank Him for the gifts and talents He has given me. I think of them as a burden, I think of them as collecting trouble for me. If I were any less talented, I'd think, I'll not have so much to do. 

Ungratefulness also shines when I covet I guess. I want so many things. I'm always looking at the things I don't have and forgetting to give thanks for the things I have, especially those electronic gadgets. 

2) Egocentricity. I mean, self-centredness or self-affixation. I think that in recent days (or perhaps thus far in my life) I've been so obsessed with my own emotions. So when people disappoint me or let me down I just want to be angry, kick a fuss and say that life is hard. It sounds pretty irrational right? The bible would have me look at God instead, not myself. In the event I do look at God I guess these little things in life will appear little indeed. I don't even know why I get angry anymore, I mean, God's grace is enough! 

So what this tells me is that I don't care if God's grace is enough. I'm not even looking God-ward, I'm just looking at myself. I'm fussing with things which don't matter, I don't want to turn my gaze onto God. But I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to think about God and what He is for me when I think about the things in my life. 

I think these things culminate into the skeptical, negative person you know me to be. I just not a person who spends time contemplating the grace of God. I like to say I'm practical and realistic, but how can I ever be realistic if my view of the world takes little account of the grace of God? 

I guess this song really resonated because I feel like I'm really... just learning to breathe and crawl. 

Good news is, I'm doing this in the midst of His abundant skies. 

God I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.