You Never Let Go - Matt Redman

It’s not a surprise that British songwriter Matt Redman’s inspiration for the song “You Never Let Go” is Psalm 23, verse 4, as opposed to what he describes as the daily drumbeat of the “dark, disturbing, depressing news” that fills our TV screens on a daily basis. For Redman and his wife, in a personal way, they say “You Never Let Go” flowed from the aftermath of a miscarriage of a child Beth was carrying, coinciding with a terrorist bombing in London – a depressing and dark time for them. From his website, one can read Redman’s own words about the song and the title of the album called ‘Beautiful News’ on which the song appears. Redman writes “It’s truly ‘beautiful news’ — which is a phrase that I’d had in my songwriting notes for a little while.” He also shares in his blog something interesting, but perhaps not really unexpected. Apparently, the song has caused people to write to him about how God has been at work personally for them, about how the Lord “never lets go”. It’s compelling that the words of a 3,000-year-old thought that David first penned for believers still has the attention of people today in a 21st Century song.

Perhaps Redman’s own blog experience in the aftermath of writing and performing the song also says something further to us, as believers and witnesses for God. Would my friends, my co-workers, and my neighbors be more apt to tell me their stories of deliverance, and maybe their stories of heartache too, if I more readily shared my experiences and my steadfast devotion to God, perhaps even in spite of the storms? Maybe what I need to do is sing ‘you never let go’ just a little louder, and with more conviction -- like Matt Redman’s song coaxes me to do -- as I struggle with my computer at work, or sigh at the bureaucracy and waste; or manage still more serious things like declining health, or tragedies. There’s lots to complain about, sure, but with this song in my head, I now can daily hum a more positive and eternal outlook.

Information on the song and Matt Redman’s thoughts were gathered at: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=120781688

and at: http://mattredman.com/blog/?p=9

and: http://www.thefish.com/music/interviews/11618102/