Don't Stop Believing
No this isn’t entirely about the 1981 smash hit by Journey, but it is about the Journey we are all on. As I took a much-needed break from blogging I was able to allow God to speak to me on what He would like to say next through me. As I read through scripture and spent time in prayer, it was the words from a familiar song on the radio that God redirected me to share to you today. Growing up in the 80’s for me was a blast and not only did the 80’s have great movies; the music was just as good. I was led to look up finally what the lyrics meant in this popular song that I have listened to for over 30 years of my life and (www.songmeaningsandfacts.com) gave me the information that I have been looking for. As the title implies (“Don’t Stop Believin’”), this song is based on the concepts of positivity thinking and remaining optimistic in the face of uncertainty. Its origins can famously be traced back to one of its co-writers, Steve Perry, calling his dad one day from Hollywood. He went there to pursue his dream of becoming a famous musician, but things weren’t working out for him. So, he asked his dad if he should quit and come home, upon which his father replied, in summation, “don’t stop believing”. And Steve Perry and the rest of Journey were able to take that piece of inspiration and turn it into one of the greatest rock classics in the history of American music.
As I read this fun fact about the origin of this song, I couldn’t help but notice a couple things, the first being that Steve Perry reached out to his father first for advice. As Christians in this fallen world, do we still reach out to our father first for guidance? Our first reaction is to pray, do we seek first the Kingdom of God or do we seek first human opinions to get us through the day and help on our decision making? If not, priorities need to be changed. Jesus did this very same action always, even when on the cross He asked His father, God why have you forsaken me? Knowing, that this action had to be done but still, He spoke to His father first. When we feel like we can’t go forward and the uncertainty is there, speak to God the father through Jesus, who is the way the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
The next thing that I found interesting with the origin of the song was what the father told his son when needing his guidance in saying, “Don’t Stop Believin.” Have you stopped believing in what God can do for you if you would just allow him to control everything in your life? Here is a father, telling his child to have faith in what is to come and to look inside of what truly matters and not focusing on the hard road ahead and the failure in the past. John 6:35 says that we as believers will never thirst as long as we have our faith in Jesus to guide us. What a great reminder that we will always be satisfied as long as we believe and trust our father in Heaven and to continue to hold on to the feeling that Jesus has our best intentions on this Journey we are on. So, when you hear this song for now on may it give you a reminder that our first reaction to anything is always to seek Jesus always to help us on this Journey we are on and whatever obstacles come our way.
May God continue to lead you on your Journey today. Amen
