Thy Word -- Amy Grant

It was a combination of at least two elements, with one of them something that many others had employed. But, another ingredient in “Thy Word” that this artist wrote in 1984 could not have been predicted. She could not have stumbled upon a method that included an incident like the one she found if she’d wanted to, for does anyone choose to be lost? Or how about danger…is that OK with you? The way this came about must have told her that it really was from a special, even divine, source. He works His will in unique ways, perhaps just so His servants cannot forget how He works to plant Himself inside each of us.

Amy Grant had been writing songs for several years by the time 1984 rolled around, and she’s kept going since that time, although whether she’s had any similar avenues for a song’s development is not clear. She was a 24-year old rising celebrity in the music industry that year, after having cut several albums in a span of seven years. Would she argue that it seemed as if God had shown her the path He intended for her? She met and began a lifelong friendship with Michael W. Smith, who coaxed her to consider putting some words to a melody that he’d composed. Smith had already suggested that some of the Psalmist’s words (119:105) worked well for the song’s main thought, but he admitted he had no ideas for the verses. That’s where Amy came in. Was it accidental that the two were in a wooded retreat in the Rocky Mountains, and Grant found herself in the dark one night, groping to find her cabin in an unfamiliar place? She’d left the recording studio and become lost; the words she wrote suggest she also had some fear pangs, as she anxiously crept through the wilderness without light. After all, were their cougars or other wildlife peering hungrily at her in the pitch black? Or, at least, almost pitch black. She eventually saw a small beam that turned out to be a lantern in her cabin’s window, and soon she was inside breathing easier. What would she have done without that small light?  And, as they say, the rest is history, including her singing the song the following day in that mountaintop studio.

Does God give us real-life physical episodes to reveal something of a deeper, personal level to us? Grant’s words in the verses she crafted after arriving in a warm, well-lit cabin from an apprehension-filled environment she’d experienced just moments before tell us that she sensed something more meaningful had been exposed for her. She confesses to having felt like a spiritual wanderer, even as she knew His presence and protection were near. It’s Him who lights the lamp, even as He knows it may not be visible without my lurching through the gloom, maybe in the wrong direction for a while. But, He hopes and rejoices when I squint and finally spot that tiny ray. In fact, that shaft of light’s always been there.

The song story is found here: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=16213

 

Information about the album on which the song first appears, from 1984: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_Ahead_%28Amy_Grant_album%29

 

All the original lyrics to the song: http://www.metrolyrics.com/thy-word-lyrics-amy-grant.html

 

Biography on composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Grant