Bellarive first surprised and moved listeners with their debut album The Heartbeat, a project that displayed a worshipful heart cast in musical creativity that brought a breath of fresh air to worship music. One of my most highly anticipated albums of this year is their follow-up Before There Was, featuring the exciting up-tempo worship songs "Let There Be Light" and "Bring Us Back" and the reflective and emotive ballads "Calling on Fire" and "Lazarus."

My heartbeat as a worshipper is to sing songs that reflect my excitement about what God has done in my life, bringing me back from darkness into His glorious light. This album beautifully celebrates those emotions. I had the chance to speak with Bellarive's lead singer Sean Curran about "Bring Us Back."

Please tell me the personal story behind writing this song.

Recently I've been spending a lot of time studying in the Book of Ephesians. It’s really given me a more eternal perspective on God's grace. While going through Ephesians I've been coming to this understanding that God has done so much more for us than just forgive us. He chose to reconcile us to Himself. Grace doesn't just pull us up from the darkness, it helps us walk into the light. This song rejoices in that hope and the depth of that amazing grace. Grace frees us from sin and welcomes us into the family of God. It brings us back. That's something worth singing about.

Sonically, we were trying to be intentional in writing the new music with some upbeat tempos. That was fun for us. It stretched us as well, as that is not our natural bent. It was fun to explore that space. Lyrically and spiritually, this song is about the ministry of reconciliation.

For the past couple of years, we've been inspired by this new revelation about this idea of grace. I for one grew up in the church and thought about grace in a one-dimensional and one-sided way. I think for a long time I thought about grace only as a means of saving us from something. That's only part of the story. It calls us into something as well. God's whole idea for us was never just to stand still, but to be in union with Him. His grace is helping make that possible.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Ephesians 2:13 (NKJV): But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 1:10 (The Message): "He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in Him, everything in deepest heaven; everything on planet earth."

Ephesians 5:13-14 (VOICE): When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing, Awake, you sleeper! Rise from your grave, And the Anointed One will shine on you.

Romans 8:11 (VOICE): If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you.

Psalm 46:4 (NKJV): "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High."

What is the takeaway message?

Most of this song was from that one passage, Ephesians 2:13. Thinking about grace as not just a pardon and forgiving us and sending us on our way, but actually pushing us closer to the heart of God and pulling us into His Kingdom, reconciling us. That's something we really should be celebrating.

Sonically we wanted to posture ourselves with a heart of rejoicing, thanking God for remedying our dilemma here and through the blood of His Son, grafting us in. We were far away, and now we don't have to be because of His grace. That’s the heart of the song.

Most of the inspiration for the entire album comes from Ephesians. In particular, those Scriptures are dealing with massive thoughts and Paul is writing with an eternal scope. For us, as we were digesting those passages, it was overwhelming and inspiring. In particular, the idea that before the foundations of the earth God had us in mind, and He set out to make us a part of His family, through Christ. This was His plan. Before there was, that was His heart for us. He was willing to anything to make that possible. That’s overwhelming.

Our response has been learning how to trust. God speaking about eternal covenants that He set in motion from the very start is unbelievable. So much of our response through these songs was responding to those promises that God set in motion before He laid the foundations. It’s about lifting your gaze and not getting so lost in our own orbits, which is easy to do. We have fears, trials, desires, and sometimes they consume us. We don’t want to fall prey to those, and we can't forget that God has bigger plans. Because of Jesus, not even the darkest sin can get in the way of God’s plans.

God wove hope and grace into our very souls when He was forging us. It's part of His plan. Our album hopefully helps people think more transcendently about things, and see God as our amazing Creator who desires union with His creation so much that He gave literally everything to make it possible.

Lyrics:
You didn't
You didn't just take our sin
You filled us 
You filled us up with Your righteousness

Yes, Your love washed over us, over us
With Your blood you covered us, covered us
Sent Your Son as one of us 
Now Your kingdom's here

Amazing grace
You've shown us Your mercy
You made a way
To bring us back
To bring us back to You

Into You're the light we will walk
We will walk
Yes, into the light we will walk
We will walk
God, into the light we will walk
We will walk
Your presence will lead us
Into the light we will walk
We will walk

Like their previous album The Heartbeat, this entire album has songs that bless and heal me as a listener. Before There Was is also one of the most moving albums I've heard this year, and I can't get enough of the standout worshipful songs "Let There Be Light," "Calling On Fire," "Lazarus" and "Bring Us Back." Do yourself a favor and buy this album immediately. You'll be refreshed, nourished and encouraged to turn to God for your strength. Bellarive's music truly sets me apart from daily distractions and circumstances, causing me to focus all of my attention on Jesus.

Something the Lord has been teaching me in writing these devotions, especially this year, is to point people to the Truth of Scripture found in these songs of faith, as it can bring us back to Him. A theme verse for me this year has been Romans 8:11, and God keeps bringing the Truth of His resurrection power through His Holy Spirit residing in believers to my attention. That’s the beauty of His Word: it doesn't return void, and it provides a constant source of comfort, guidance and how to draw closer to Him.

This song is a great way to allow the truth of the Gospel to soak in, starting with the first verse "You didn't just take our sin, You filled us, You filled us up with Your righteousness." That’s the filling of the Holy Spirit described in Romans 8:11. The Lord wants to use us, drawing us closer to Himself and sending us out filled with His Spirit, as in Ephesians 5:13-14: "When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing" (emphasis added). I can't get enough of this song, especially the bridge "Your presence will lead us, into the light we will walk, we will walk." Amen to that!


(Watch the lyric video here.)