I am a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and I credit the biblical message of Christian music for leading to my own personal salvation in Christ. As a result, I am passionate about bringing out the biblical messages in today's Christian music. 

 

Over the last five years, I have had the amazing opportunity to feature 400 songs from speaking with today's Christian artists who exemplify what this kind of music is supposed to be about--Jesus Christ. I'm honored to feature this song as my 400th devotional. 

 

It's my prayer that my devotionals will encourage readers and be an influence to people's individual walks with Christ, or maybe to even lead people to Christ if they haven't yet made the decision. God speaks to us in different ways and I find myself closest to Him in my times of prayer and reflection, especially with a song of praise and adoration like "Who You Are" by JJ Heller. 

 

One of my daily devotionals in trying to grow in my walk with Jesus is to sing to Him at least one worship song every day. I consider it a privilege to share the biblical truth "behind the song" to readers weekly. 

 

JJ Heller is the picture of a true working mother. While raising her two young girls, Heller has been busy putting the final touches on her upcoming album Loved, releasing March 12. JJ's soft voice and introspective lyrics first hit the spotlight in 2009 when her song "Your Hands" was featured on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance? and eventually found a life of its own on radio across the country. Since that time, her career has become the picture of indie success, including numerous national TV placements and her song, "What Love Really Means", being named the best Christian Song on Amazon.com's "Best of 2010" list. JJ's trademark ability to be transparent and vulnerable resonates throughout LOVED. The 10 new songs serve as a reminder not to let go of hope, to step out of fear and into trust in spite of life's present struggles.

 

Perhaps it's her insight and sensitivity that consistently draw a female audience to JJ's music. She touches on issues of self-image and worry, questions of faith, and feelings of loneliness; her songs resonate with women and offer encouragement. I had the great opportunity to interview JJ and her husband David Heller about "Who You Are" from her forthcoming new album, Loved.

 

 

We were thinking about how in our early twenties we got married, and we bought a house, and it was a celebration. Then in our later twenties, we started to experience a lot of heartbreak in watching family members pass away, friends getting divorced and losing houses. It was a time of heaviness, and I've noticed that when something hurtful happens, my first response is to ask God why is He allowing bad things to happen. Why isn't He stopping it? I've noticed that His answer to my question isn't a lengthy explanation of all of His reasons, but He asks me if I trust Him. The song "Who You Are" is about even when we can't see what God is doing, we can trust His character and know that He is good. We can look back on our own lives and see His faithfulness. We can see that in the Scriptures. We see over and over how God takes the most dire circumstances and finds a way to redeem them.

 

Job 1:20-22: Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

 

…and Isaiah 53:5: But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

 

 

David: The story of Job connects to this song. Job recognizes that he is a created being, and although all of his family died he remains faithful to God. He knew he needed to give way to the Almighty. It is the Lord who initially gave Job his family. That's a lot of what we were drawing from in writing this song. With this collection of songs, we wanted to explore the idea of redemption. You can't explore that concept without delving into pain and heartache that we experience. The deeper you go into the pain, the more meaningful the story of redemption. 

 

JJ: We hope that this song and our new album is an encouragement to people. A lot of what we talk about at our live performances is how pain and struggle is almost not discussed in the church because people tend to put on a happy face and look like they have it all together. Then we feel like we have to look that way. That perpetuates this cycle of sometimes not being totally authentic. In the songs we write, we try to give people permission to be hurting. That's okay. They are not doing something wrong if they are in a season of sorrow. That can be very isolating, when you feel like you are the only one whose heart is breaking and everyone else is happy. Through our music and this album, which talks about redemption we hope people hear it and don't feel alone. We named the album Loved because your view of your identity, regardless of your circumstances is that you have value and God loves you. With that understanding, you can hope in even the most dire circumstances.

 

 

A song that will stop you in your tracks is the first single "Who You Are." Everyone can really relate to the sincerity and sensitivity of this amazing song. The song addresses the broken cry of all of us, especially women who struggle with finding their true identity in Christ. All believers know that Christ is the only answer to the question in the prayerful lyrics: "I don't know, I don't know what You're doing, But I know who You are." 

 

What's so relatable is how JJ Heller's "relationship" songs are relevant for everyone, but especially if you know Jesus, then you know the ultimate answer to the quest for love can only be found in Him. No song better displays that emotion than "Who You Are," which includes the extremely moving description of parents who have painful questions for God about losing a child. They ultimately find redemption in knowing and being known by our Father in Heaven as gorgeously sung in the lyrics: "You have a Father's heart, And a love that's wild, And You know what it's like to lose, Yeah, You know what it's like, What it's like to lose a child." I started sobbing the first time I heard the emotional bridge of the song, it's that moving and beautiful.

 

There is a chapter about the prophecy of Isaiah 53, more than 700 years before Jesus came to earth, in his devotional book Glory Revealed, author and evangelist David Nasser says: "The glory of the Lord is best revealed in His Word. When we begin to dig into the truth that is found within the pages of the Bible, we will begin to see His glory revealed." 

 

As we approach Easter, remember the prophetic words of Isaiah about our Savior Jesus: "By His wounds we are healed." Amen.

(You can watch the music video here.)