You Have Redeemed My Soul

You have redeemed my soul

from the pit of emptiness

You have redeemed my soul

from death

You have redeemed my soul

from the pit of emptiness

You have redeemed my soul

from death

I was a hungry child

in a dried up river

I was a burnt out forest

and no one could do anything

for me

but You brought food to my body

and water in my dry bed

and to my blackened branches

You brought the springtime green

of new life

and nothing is impossible

for You

(by Waterdeep)

I didn’t write this beautiful song- but it might as well have been written for me.

I heard this song one Sunday when a college student led worship at our church many years ago. God began to stir within my heart a desire to draw closer to Him as I heard it.  Months went by, and all I could remember was the word green, and I knew I had to find this song again. I called my husband at work and asked him if he remembered what song I was talking about.  He did-  but he, too, couldn’t remember the name.

It wasn’t but about an hour later- my hubby remembered it (he has a fantastic memory, praise the Lord!!) and he sent me the words of the song. I sat at my piano, with nothing but these words and I played and sang it. I did this every single day.  For weeks.

It was the first worship song I ever played on my piano. Honestly, it wasn’t worship at all when I first started playing it. But I believe God had been planting seeds and that He was teaching me how to worship. I was hungry for Him and desperate to change my life.  I played and played…and the more I played, the less I had to think about what I was doing.

One morning, I sat on my old piano bench, and  I remember my youngest daughter was crawling around on the floor in the next room.  I began to play this song that I had been compelled to play for weeks on end… and for the first time, I tried to sing and nothing came out.  Tears flowed down my face as I realized all this time I had spent searching for the words of this song- I had been searching for Him.  And these words I was compelled to sing- He was doing that for me all the time, and had already done this for me… He was simply waiting for me to see it.  You know that saying “fake it ’till you make it”?  After all that time of singing praises- finally in that instant, empty words were brought to life in my heart, and His presence was so real.

He was already with me…I had been blind, but praise God- that was the day that for the first time-

I could see!

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”  John 9:25