The Peace We're Looking For

Lately, I've been realizing just how awesome Sanctus Real's lyrics are. If you're not familiar with this solid rock band, you should work on that. They don't use theatrics on stage or crazy time signatures or giant lyrical metaphors. They're one of those few bands that's just... good. That said, we got a glimpse of the heart that brings about those songs through an e-mail interview with them (not as fun as in person or even over the phone, but we'll take it!). What they said several times was that we can truly have peace through a relationship with God. I think so many times we feel that life is a series of ups and downs that God just takes us through; He's a shoulder to cry on in the hard times. But it's so much more! We can have peace.
When speaking of anxiety when at a crossroads in life, the members of Sanctus Real say: "The beautiful thing is that, if we are in a right, honest relationship with God, we can REST in Him, and let Him take our anxiousness and be at peace, knowing He's got us, in every situation." We are not helplessly riding a roller coaster of happiness and sadness, good and bad situations; we have an awesome Master who has a plan for us, and our experiences are all part of a bigger picture than we can even imagine (like the Domino effect, remember?). When we choose to believe in this fact and have faith in our Lord, we choose peace. "There's real life in trusting in the unshakable character of God."

The Call

I'm a fan of music, in case you haven't noticed. I'm extremely passionate about it and the impact it makes on the world; I think it's one of God's greatest and most powerful gifts to us. I suspect most of the band members we interviewed feel the same way. So when you hear one of them say, "The things that are important to me are, in this order: 1. Serving God with my life 2. My family, my wife and kids, and everything else is so distant beyond that, I don't even know where to rank it. Music falls distant behind the things that really matter...", you can only begin to imagine how passionate he is about God, and his family.
The members of Silverline (that was Steve, lead guitarist) are following the Lord blindly, and music just happens to be one of the ways they do that (they happen to be really good at it, too).
Right now, my mom and I are in the process of picking out parts of the interviews that we'd really like to use in the book. Since there are so many interviews (currently 22), and it's not going to be a book of quotes, we're trying to be reasonably conservative. I'm not kidding, you guys, I have underlined about half of the Silverline interview. So where to begin?
The biggest emphasis they made was on answering God's call. Following His path is what it's all about, no matter where it takes you; don't take yourself anywhere else. We have dreams, but we need to discern which ones are of God and pursue those. God doesn't work within our ideal timetable; His timing is perfect beyond our comprehension. Silverline has been together for around 10 years; they are not an overnight sensation. But they press forward and keep their trust in God, and He's brought them to some amazing places and done some incredible things through them for the glory of His Kingdom. As Dean (drummer) said, "You're still getting the things you dreamed and desired, but you get them from the back door of submission and obedience."
This does not mean slavery; it is, in fact, the exact opposite. It's incredibly liberating to live in obedience and submission to God. We have no claim on anything- it is all God's, and we can choose whether we're going to let Him bless us with it or whether we're going to corrupt ourselves. "If God calls you to do something, He says, 'Count the cost before you answer the call, because if you're not willing to make the sacrifices to do what I've called you to do, then don't even show up.'"-Dean.

I specifically chose to blog about these guys this week because they are playing in my town tomorrow night! I'm very excited to see them again. For those of you from La Crosse who see this today or tomorrow, come to the show at Crossfire at 5:30- Silverline, John Reuben, and a few others. If I don't know you, I'd love to meet you, so don't be afraid to introduce yourself to me or my mom, Lisa! And take the opportunity to meet with all the band members too; they are really great guys, and I don't mean just Silverline (though Dean has a reputation for giving great hugs!). Not to mention, you will be enjoying a really good show. Hope to see you there!