Integrity Music artist and Canadian resident Greg Sykes has co-written songs with Jaci Velasquez, Paul Baloche, All Sons & Daughters, Meredith Andrews, Leeland Mooring, Brenton Brown and others. His upbeat and infectious musical style contains personal and biblical language, like David in the Psalms.

His 5-song EP Reverse reflects his personal journey and God's faithfulness. "With God, nothing is beyond repair, no situation is hopeless," says Sykes. "Often, the things that look like the end for us are the very places God begins to redeem or show His strength and presence in our lives. He is always with us in our story, so there's always hope." I had the chance to speak with Greg about the catchy song "Reverse."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

This song is about what I believe and what I want my kids to hold onto as well. The essence of the song is that God tends to work so often in the opposite way of how we think. He uses reverse logic. I'm grateful for that. He's taken things in my life which I thought were done or I had wasted my opportunity and gone too far. He's always been able to take even the worst of circumstances in ways I never thought and provide redemption and hope and healing. 

One example is that when I was a kid, I massively struggled with insecurity. When I was around 13, my dad moved out of the house, and that rocked me. I just couldn't understand why. I think that was around the first time I experienced what, looking back now, was depression. I was just really sad. I struggled to even interact properly with kids at school, but my solace was found in music.

It's so interesting. I didn't become a Christian until I was 20 years old and a friend showed me the Beatitudes. I was so excited because I felt like I had a chance. I often feel poor, and in mourning, and weak and powerless. Yet, these are the places that God tends to work and move, in those situations and in those people, because then we can't take any credit for our own power. It's all Him. 

I love the thought of the upside down Kingdom, and I wanted to write a song about that. We found the Message translation of the Beatitudes, the description of "the Great Reversal," after we'd already written the song.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Mark 10:29-31 (MSG): "This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first."

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV): Now when He saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

What is the takeaway message?

We wrote the song based on the Beatitudes. It's not new or totally profound, and songs have been written on that passage, but I wanted to write an upbeat song with that message. The song gives weary sinners great hope. We've got a chance. If you feel insecure or weak, it's okay. Those are the people God uses. 

We pray that the song will help people connect their circumstances to the fact that even though the enemy has tried to use things to take us out, God can use those very things for His good and for His glory. I heard the illustration of imagining a guy being attacked by someone with a knife being able to take that very weapon and use it for his defense. That's where the chorus lands. We've all faced struggles and unfair attacks, but it doesn't end there. It doesn't always look like we thought and may not look ideal, but in the Kingdom of God, it will work in reverse. The ultimate reversal is the curse of sin that was meant for us. God took that punishment on our behalf and reversed it that so we can be free.

Lyrics:
Beneath every doubt, there's redemption 
Beyond what we see, He's at work 
Before we believe, He hurts when we're hurting 
He works in mysterious ways 

Above all the chaos, there's order 
After the fire He restores 
At the end of the pain, His promise remains 
He works in mysterious ways 

So blessed are the poor and the powerless 
All the weak and wounded made whole again 
And even what the enemy has tried to use against me 
God will use it for my good and for His Glory

Sometimes He works, in reverse 
He works, in reverse
He works, in reverse
He works, in reverse

What looks like the end, is the beginning 
His kingdom's not of this world 
When we surrender, that's when He takes over 
He works in mysterious ways

And when it looks like it's over 
He's just getting started 
It's just the beginning

The lyrics are based on The Beatitudes, which is one of my favorite passages in the Bible (find more songs based on that passage here). I think we forget those words quite often as followers of Jesus by keeping Him to ourselves. That is probably due to our shame over our own sinful natures and our concern that others will consider our actions hypocrisy if they really know us. 

The Good News of the Gospel is that we don't have to pretend we've got it all together. That is certainly an area of sin in my life. I find myself wondering how I can "do" more to earn love from God and people. Only in the Name of Jesus and putting our faith in His sacrifice on our behalf can we be free from sin, shame and hypocrisy. Jesus really loves us just as we are, not who we pretend to be. Not only does He love our weaknesses, he blesses us because of them. Being poor in spirit, meek, persecuted and insulted bring blessings from God, which is all we need. I love knowing that in my brokenness, I am actually closer to God. It is so wonderful to know that failing by the world's standards is what we are called to be as devoted followers of Jesus.

This song is about realizing that if your eyes are open to the needs of others around you, and if you serve others and care about people more than think about yourself and your doubts, then you can start to live out the Beatitudes and understand the words: "This is once again the Great Reversal: many who are first will end up last, and the last first" (Mark 10:31). You can live out those words by allowing these lyrics seep into your heart: "So blessed are the poor and the powerless, all the weak and wounded made whole again, and even what the enemy has tried to use against me, God will use it for my good and for His Glory." Amen to that!

Watch the music video below.