Sanctus Real's past highlights include songs like "I'm Not Alright," "Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)," "Forgiven," "Lead Me" and "Pray." Most recently "Lay it Down," lead single from The Dream, joins that lineup of compelling, heart-felt songs.

This new compilation of the Best Of Sanctus Real during lead singer Matt Hammitt's tenure features several hit radio singles and fan favorites from over the years. The project also features Matt's final recording with the band: a new single titled "Longer than a Lifetime." 

I have long admired Sanctus Real's music ministry, from 2002's Say It Loud through The Dream. Over the last 13 years, I have heard the band mature spiritually as fellow believers in Christ and as husbands and fathers, and they always connect with me on all of those levels. This farewell song from Matt Hammitt as the lead singer of Sanctus Real is a fitting tribute to the band's name, which means "to be Holy" (the Latin meaning of "Sanctus"). I had the chance to speak with Matt Hammitt about "Longer than a Lifetime."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

For us, in crafting a final song together, we wanted a song that would not only literally capture the feelings of being on the road together but also be a metaphor for the times emotionally and spiritually that we bonded as brothers in the faith. Also, like in the song "Friends" by Michael W. Smith, we basically we wanted to share in our own way the idea that in God's Kingdom there really are no goodbyes forever. We'll be spending an eternity together doing the very thing we started this band to do, which is to be a hymn of praise to God. 

Psalm 37:5 has been a verse that I've clung to over and over again. We tie ourselves in this life to people or places or careers, and we commit ourselves to our own plans. And when we do that, we take ourselves away from the freedom that God wants for us. He wants us to walk according to the Spirit. Something that's very important for me in this season is the idea of availability as we follow Jesus, to have our hands open.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Psalm 37:5 (AMP): Commit your way to the Lord; Trust in Him also and He will do it.

Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV): Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.

1 Kings 19:12 (KJV): And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

John 14:16 (NKJV): And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV): And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

What is the takeaway message?

I want us to hear and see what God has for us in our lives, as He says He has something for us. It's often God's way of saying, whether metaphorically or literally, that we're not where He wants us to be, and He's telling us He wants us to move and follow Him. For me, that's what I've wanted my life to look like in this new season. I've felt a restlessness, and rather than put it off and commit to my plan, instead I stopped and asked the Lord what He wants to say to me. In that moment I could hear His voice telling me He was calling me out in a different direction. 

Even in this new season, I've felt it is my duty and my joy as a follower of Christ to rely on His plans instead of making my own plans. I've felt God very clearly tell me to keep my hands open, and He'll show me where he wants me to go. Sure enough, as soon as I surrendered to God, everything has been lining up in ways I never could have planned. To actually trust and sit back and wait on the Lord has been hard, but I think it is what He calls us to. We don't establish our plans. He establishes our plans when we ask Him to plot the way for us.

Singing "Lead Me" every single night on the road has been a public accountability for me. I've felt it speaking deeply back to me, challenging me each day to think about how I'm being a better father and husband. How am I following the Lord first and then leading my family? As I thought about those ideas, there was a time when I felt the Lord was calling me to be in a band, and working to make a travel schedule that would also serve our families, but for me it was very difficult to reconcile being an artist with being the kind of husband and father I wanted to be. I felt that restlessness nine years ago when I wrote "Whatever You're Doing," which is about the same thing. I wrote those songs as my wife asked me to be a better spiritual leader in my home. 

Those songs are about the difference between actions and intentions. I was man of good intentions, but I had to ask myself what were my action steps to do better. Intentions aren't enough. You need to ask yourself how you are going to do what the Bible calls us to do, which is to wash our wives in the water of the Word and raise up our children in the way that they should go. That takes more than just good intentions and just being around. You can be around and not be engaged in the leadership and actions that our families need from us. 

The songs were the beginning of those steps to move from intentions to actions, and now I feel called to rally men to join me on this journey, and that's why I've started these "Lead Me Live" conferences.

Lyrics:
I can see the leaves are moving
I can feel a change in the air 
But I know You'll go before me
'Cause You've always been there
Dark clouds, blue skies
Every season of this life
I know You'll be by my side

Even when the lights fade out
Even when we say goodbye
We have a love that lasts longer than a lifetime
So here's to the times we've shared
Here's to the tears we've cried
Here's to a love that lasts longer than a lifetime

Lookin' out the window I see
White lines racing by
Like the minutes moving past me
Another year in a blink of an eye
Big cities, small towns
Every road You lead us down
This is the hope we've found

And when I feel I've lost, lost my way
And I can see the seasons change
Through it all You'll be my strength
Through it all I still have faith

The vertical lyrics of the song are a great reminder for us as followers of Jesus: "But I know You'll go before me, 'cause You've always been there, dark clouds, blue skies, every season of this life, I know You'll be by my side."  You can apply those words in your daily walk with Jesus, and also horizontally in your daily walk with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. That's something I've long admired about the band's ministry: the ability to put poetic words into the minds, hearts and mouths of Christians, allowing us to join in with their holy hymns of praise to the Lord. I've been moved by the band's songs that have called me to be a better husband and father, and I'm looking forward to Matt's ministry opportunities with "Lead Me Live" Conferences. 

For me, the most encouraging part of the song "Longer than a Lifetime" is the message that I don't have to be perfect or rely on my plans, but that God knows me and loves me just as I am. He wants to hear each of us sing "Through it all You'll be my strength. Through it all I still have faith." That is cause for celebration, as we all have freedom to be ourselves and He has great plans for us. We need to live each day knowing that despite circumstances, God has a plan for "those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

The song is purposefully dually messaged, a poignant reminder in these times that as believers we have a bond that will last into eternity. Our identity lasts beyond this fallen temporal time, and we can sing in praise "Here's to a love that lasts longer than a lifetime." Amen to that!

Watch the lyric video below.