Chelsea Musick has been singing since she was a little girl. Over the past few years I've seen Chelsea a few times singing songs from her most recent album, Perfectly You, at Creation Northeast and at a concert at my house. The album has a pop/country musical feel, similar to Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, but with edifying Christian messages. There are several great themes that are faced by teenaged girls and young women specifically that the album addresses in a mature and faith-based way.

We have three daughters. One of our consistent prayers for them is that they know that they are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139), and that they don't look to the world for significance, but find their identity from being daughters of God, and made in His image. Chelsea's album addresses that theme in several songs, including "Perfectly You," "I'm Yours," "Hard to Believe" and "All I Need." Having previously spoken with Chelsea about her songs about identity and her anti-bullying song "When You Do This to Me," I had the chance to speak with Chelsea about the topic of purity in-person at Creation in discussing her beautiful ballad, "Hard to Believe."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

The album has songs about different topics. There are songs about self-image, about losing someone and wanting to see them again, and the message of "Hard to Believe" has been so needed for girls who are focused on relationships with guys. I know so many girls that go from guy to guy or jump too quickly into relationships that aren't healthy, and they know they shouldn't be in the relationship, but there is such an attachment. 

I wrote the song because of a close friend of mine who went through a tough time where she gave every single part of herself to this guy, and he cheated on her. Questions go through girl's minds like, "Am I not good enough, pretty enough, or smart enough, and will anybody ever love me?" We had a really good conversation about this and she kept asking "why?" and saying "I can't believe this happened to me." 

I know a lot of girls and guys as well who struggle with this. Girls tend to open up to me about this topic, specifically. In talking with her and hearing where she was in her brokenness, the beginning of this song sings about how she gave this boy everything and how she couldn't believe that she fell for his lies. She's in a broken place. What happened in real life, and in the bridge of the song and the ending, I told her that" I know that you're broken and your heart is hurting, but I have Jesus and He keeps my heart whole and complete." I told her about Jesus, and then wrote this song.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

1 Corinthians 13:7 (CEV): "Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting."

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 

Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV): "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool." 

Psalm 147:3 (NKJV): "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

1 John 3:1 (NLT): "See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know Him."

Romans 8:14-15 (NKJV): "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'"

Galatians 4:6 (NKJV): "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV): "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT): "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
 
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV): "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

Song of Solomon 4:7 (NIV): "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you."

What is the takeaway message?

There were so many times I tried to talk with my friend about Jesus, and she wasn't really interested in listening until she went through this situation and her heart was broken and she was ready to feel the Savior's love. It was a cool moment. She gave her life to the Lord, and totally changed. It was beautiful. The end of the song talks about when I told her about the One who makes all things new and heals a broken heart, and the song flips around from a negative way of her asking "how could this happen to me?" to her asking "how could this happen to me? I can't believe the Savior loves me!" It's a cool reverse.

I want girls to know that their first love needs to be Jesus. We can search every part of this world for a guy, and we'll be heart broken. It doesn't matter if they are the greatest guy, because we have all fallen short of the glory of God. Everybody is going to hurt us in some way, shape or form. The only One who will truly satisfy us is the Lord. 

I've seen a lot of girls really take to this song. God can heal any broken heart. We are His children and He loves us, and we can cry out to Him, Abba, Father! We can search high and low for something to satisfy us, but only God can satisfy us, and He's always there for us.

Lyrics:
Got a phone call from Katy
My best friend for years
It was hard to understand her 
Through all of the tears 
But I already knew what she was going through

So I went straight to her house she was on the front porch 
She cried on my shoulder with her heart on the floor 
Broken and abused 
She had been so used 
And she said

How could this happen to me?
I thought it was real 
I gave that boy everything 
And I fell for all of his lies
Did I really deserve this?
How could I be so blind to see?
It's so hard to believe

We sat there for hours unaware of the time 
And before we knew it the sun began to rise still so much pain 
And the tears fall like rain
And she said 

How could this happen to me?
I thought it was real 
I gave that boy everything 
And I fell for all of his lies
Did I really deserve this?
How could I be so blind to see?
It's so hard to believe

So I told her about The One who makes everything new and heals the broken heart 
She asked if I would pray 
And gave her life away to the Maker of the stars
And she said

How could this happen to me
I know this is real so I'm giving Him everything
I have searched all of my life
Do I really deserve this, this love so Divine and free
It's so hard to believe
That someone could love me

"Hard to Believe" is a standout ballad about getting to know the heart of a person in a dating relationship and not giving away your purity. I'm completely convicted by the strong lyrics and find immense comfort in this song filled with biblical truth. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about featuring female artists making faith-based music, like Chelsea, is that they are representing purity to my 3 daughters, which is so important. 

When I look at what the secular world values, it does not value purity. People mock purity and belittle it. The Lord washes us white and pure as snow. God's love is a pure and unconditional love that the world doesn't know unless you have tasted and seen the goodness and purity of Jesus and His love for us. I especially take the message of this song to heart and want my girls to know that although I will let them down sometimes, we can bring it all to Jesus and He'll accept us no matter what we've done or how we view ourselves. 

As a Christian father, I want my daughters to all know that they are beautiful just the way they are, and they don't need the world's approval or to fall into the trap of the world's definitions of right and wrong. We often feel ashamed and unworthy of God's perfect and loyal love, but that's the point. We aren't worthy and God still wants all of us and loves us deeply. Commit your heart to Jesus as your first love. Commit to holiness and purity in your life, and this song can be your anthem. No matter what you've done, you can be pure in the Lord's sight.

The song is a gorgeous profession of Chelsea's sincere desire to lift up Jesus in every song. The song compels me to worship and profess my own appreciation for the pure love of Jesus. A lesson from this song is that we all need to seek God with our whole hearts, and He promises we will find Him and give us rest. Join in with Chelsea as she profoundly sings, "So I told her about The One who makes everything new and heals the broken heart." Amen to that!

Listen to the song below.