After a string of hit songs from their first four albums including "You Decide," "Unbreakable," "For Those Who Wait" and "Stay Close," Fireflight released INNOVA in 2015, their first new album in over three years. The album was nominated for a We LOVE Christian Music Award for Electronic/Dance Music Album of the Year, with nominations as well for Group of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Indie Artist/Group of the Year.

Refined during a season of pain, uncertainty and frustration, the band's fifth full-length album has found significant success at radio from the rock singles "Resuscitate" and "Safety" (featuring Anberlin's Stephen Christian), as the band stretches the limits of its art-- reinventing itself while continuing to connect with its fans on a personal level. There is a lot of infectious energy in these great new songs including "Lightning" and "We Are Alive" as they celebrate their new life as a band and how they are alive in Christ.  I had the chance to speak with Dawn Michele about the single "Here and Now."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

This is one of my favorite songs from the album, and it is my husband's favorite. I wrote this song with our friend Geoff Duncan. This whole album was a transition for us in a lot of different ways, coming to a new place in life and as a band, going independent and everything. We were going through really big changes. For this song, I wanted to capture that feeling we go through in a tough season or in struggling for a while, looking for meaning or looking for a way out of a situation or wondering if you are ever going to reach your dream after a lot of work. The song is about finding that moment of letting go and moving forward with what God's been trying to teach you. 

More than getting what you want, it's understanding how God has been changing you through the process. Sometimes our circumstances don't even change, but God changes us. For me, I get so distracted by what's in front of my face: bills, sickness or some other distraction. God is so much bigger and greater than our experience on earth, and He's always working for us.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Isaiah 43:19 (VOICE): "Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it's happening now, even as I speak, and you're about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert; Waters will flow where there had been none."

Jeremiah 33:3 (VOICE): "Call to Me, and I will answer you. I will tell you of great things, things beyond what you can imagine, things you could never have known."

Psalm 40:17 (VOICE): "Meanwhile, I am empty and need so much, but I know the Lord is thinking of me. You are my help; only You can save me, my True God. Please hurry."

Romans 8:28 (VOICE): "We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan."

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV): "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

What is the takeaway message?

We cry out "God, where are You? When are you going to make these changes in my life and make me happy so I can get what I want?" In those moments we totally miss what God has been doing in our lives. For me, a big part of my journey in life is overcoming fear, which has been my biggest struggle. I tend to get completely bogged down by my insecurities and fear of change. I feel like a failure in my own life. In the song, the perspective is someone who is feeling trapped, and coming to realize that we're not trapped because God is infinite and has so many possibilities for us. When we feel like saying, "God where are You?" the truth is God has always been right by your side.

Often we try to fix our problems in our own ways, and we are looking for that so strongly that we don't see how God is working in His ways. The song says "it's more than how You've changed things, it's how You're changing me." So often in my own life I ask God to get me out of things, and He doesn't. God doesn't just want to take us away from things, but wants us to get stronger under those tests. The most important thing is to stop being so distracted and realize that it's as simple as drawing closer to God, sitting on His lap and listening to what He has to say, seeking Him for guidance. He will reveal things beyond our understanding and really show us a life that's so much bigger than the small, petty things we fight for.

Lyrics:
Lonely moonlight guides my eyes right to the door
So many nights I'd lay here wondering will I ever cross the floor
Slipping from my grip no matter what I'd do
All the dreams I held so tightly I could not stop from falling through
But right here with You everything's changing
You change me
You change things

Here and now
Never felt like this before
But it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now
Never felt like this before
But it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now

Feels like flying realizing that there's more
To this life than just surviving there is love worth dying for
But right here with You everything's changing
You change me
You change things

Here and now
Never felt like this before
But it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now
Never felt like this before
But it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now
Here and now

It's more than how You've changed things, it's how You're changing me
All I really needed was something to believe
It's more than how You've changed things, it's how You're changing me
All I really needed was something to believe

Here and now
Never felt like this before
But it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now
I'm standing at the open door
And it's the moment I've been waiting for
Been waiting to step into the future. Step into the future
Here and now
Here and now
Here and now

As believers, it would be powerful if we could start to show our witness of God not only in our times of hardship, but also by leaning into Him and showing our joy in terms of celebrating God. That in some ways is just as inspirational. Joy isn't just a happy emotion. It is also a deep peace and understanding, knowing that we are loved without a shadow of a doubt. We should not be ashamed to sing of our dependence on God and to show Him reverence. What are those things in your life that are beyond you that you can turn over to God? Allow Him and His supernatural ability to take you to places that you can't handle on your own.

We are all a work in progress. Have faith and let God "work all things together for good." Spend time with God and let Him redeem and restore you. We are not at the end of our story. God's still writing our stories of redemption. God wants us to know that He's faithful to complete what's He's started in all of us who've put all of our hope and trust in Jesus for our salvation. 

The Christian walk is summed up poetically in the lyrics "But right here with You everything's changing, You change me, You change things." Dream big, live for God and know that He has great plans for you. Join with Dawn and sing along: "It's more than how You've changed things, it's how You're changing me, All I really needed was something to believe. Here and now." Amen to that!

Listen to the song below.