Christian singer/songwriter, Cory Asbury, became well-recognized after his song "Reckless Love" went viral. Asbury was formerly part of Bethel Music (a CCM worship band), but later left to pursue his own career. He writes heartfelt songs that help listeners to connect with God. Here are five essential songs from Cory Asbury that everyone should listen to.
"Dear God"
"Dear God" is one of the songs from Asbury's 2020 album, To Love a Fool, and it's an honest conversation between the artist and God. "Dear God/I've been trying awful hard to make You proud of me/But it seems/The harder that I try, all the harder it becomes." This conversation that Asbury is having with God highlights the realistic struggle that Christians have while on their walk with God. While we try our best not to sin, our flesh succumbs to it because sin is in our nature. However, when we do sin, we should run back to God.
"Cause you tried and you tried/ And I saw you wrestle with/Every how, every why/I was right there listening/So just fall into the mystery/And I'll meet you here in the melody/Try, just to try again." Knowing that God does not expect us to be perfect and that He is sanctifying us until the day we are with Him gives followers of Christ hope as we wrestle with our battle with sin.
"Sparrows"
Also under Asbury's 2020 album, To Love A Fool, "Sparrows" is based on Matthew 6:25-34: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they... Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
The birds are very well taken care of by our heavenly Father, and we are so much more valuable than they are. Because of this, we should not have to worry about our life or what tomorrow brings: "'Cause You take good care of me/You take good care of me/You know what I need before I even ask a thing/And You hold me in Your hands/With a kindness that never ends/I'm carried in Your love no matter what the future brings/Yeah, You take good care of me." I tend to worry a lot about the future, but there is great comfort in knowing that even though the world is constantly changing, the God I serve remains constant and holds my future in His hands.
"Kind"
Found in the 2023 album Pioneer, "Kind" is an honest song about the difficulties that we cannot escape in this world. Asbury starts the song by listing some of those difficulties: "Sometimes marriages don't work, and sometimes babies die/Sometimes rehab turns to relapse and you're left just askin' why/And for all the prayers I've prayed, I still wonder if He's real/And if He is, how is He choosin' who He does and doesn't heal?"
These hard situations leave an honest question: "Does God really care?" In those moments, it doesn't seem like He does, but in 1 Peter 5:7, we are reminded that He does care: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." As humans, our knowledge is limited and our circumstances will not make sense at the moment. Because of our limited knowledge, we get frustrated with God, yet in our frustration, He understands our pain and comforts us in those hard moments: "I've cursed His name in anger with my fist raised to the sky/And in return, all He's ever been is kind." I hope this song encourages you to seek comfort in our Heavenly Father because He deeply cares for you and has a purpose for the hard things you go through.
"Egypt"
This next song, "Egypt," is directly related to the story of Moses in the Bible. Throughout the book of Exodus, the faithfulness of God is shown. He led the Israelites out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness into the promised land. "Egypt" in this song symbolizes the long struggle that we have endured, and similarly how God delivered the Israelites, He leads us to the path of hope and new life: "You stepped into my Egypt/And You took me by the hand/And You marched me out in freedom/Into the promised land."
In the book of Exodus, the Israelites started to doubt whether God was for them or against them. However, He proved His faithfulness by parting the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians, and by leading them with a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night. There is no doubt that God will continue to fight our battles today as well: "You're the God who fights for me/Lord of every victory/Hallelujah/Hallelujah/You have torn apart the sea/You have led me through the deep/Hallelujah/Hallelujah." I hope this song reminds you that God is faithful and fighting your battles.
"Endless Alleluia"
The final song I want to share is "Endless Alleluia." This song is on Asbury's 2018 album, Reckless Love, and it's about the desire to worship God throughout our lifetime. Asbury starts the song with his desire to worship God the moment he wakes up: "In the morning when I rise to meet You/In the morning when I lift my eyes/You're the only One I wanna cling to/You're the first thought on my mind."
A thought I always ponder is how all of creation was created to worship God. From the singing birds to the dancing leaves, everything was created by Him and for Him. Asbury highlights this thought in the chorus: "Let our voices rise/All creation cries/Singing out an endless alleluia/From this moment on/Join with Heaven's song/Singing out an endless alleluia."
As the song concludes, Asbury says that God is the last thought on His mind when he finally goes to bed: "In the evening when I lay my head down/In the evening when I close my eyes/You're still the only One I wanna cling to/You're the last thought on my mind." As humans, we struggle to put God first in our lives because our lives are insanely busy, but I pray that for even five minutes, we think about the goodness of God and remember how He is worthy of our endless alleluia.
Gilead Adams is a Music Therapy major at Concordia University of Wisconsin. She's one of NRT's newest contributors.
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