Have you ever been in a season so difficult that you stopped believing it would ever end?
I remember sitting in a retreat about fifteen years ago, completely empty. I had been running on fumes for so long. I didn't even recognize how depleted I was until I had nothing left. I remember wondering if prayer and reading the Bible would ever feel life-giving again.
That season did eventually end, though the recovery took longer than I wanted, and the road out was harder than I expected.
Whenever I hear "Look at What God Has Done" by Connecticut-based Lost & Found, I think back to that season. The song is like a testimony sung in real time, conveying someone’s joy after moving through something real.
Many worship songs rush past the hard stuff. While some quickly note the difficulty, they often rush to a big declaration of faith. “Look at What God Has Done” includes both. "It's been a long journey, and the road's been hard."This simple lyric refuses to skip past real life just to get to the inspirational part.
This idea isn’t new. The Apostle Paul knew it, too. When he wrote to the church in Galatia, he said, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Paul didn't say, "Don't be weary," if that's how you’re feeling in the moment. He acknowledged that weariness and waiting are real, as is the temptation to give up during those times. You are allowed to feel tired. That’s why the line “Your mercy meets me every day” stood out when I really listened. Many people wonder, "Maybe mercy will be waiting for me at the end." But the song declares, “Mercy meets me every day.” Not in the future, but right where I am.
This daily mercy echoes Jeremiah’s story. The prophet wrote Lamentations after the city had fallen, the temple had been destroyed, and the people had been exiled. Lamentations is one of the most raw and grief-soaked books in the entire Bible. In the middle of that devastation, Jeremiah writes: "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."
The context is crucial: mercy wasn’t something Jeremiah received once “everything worked out.” God’s mercy kept arriving right where he was.
This hope Jeremiah describes is distinct from what we typically seek. We tend to want “destination hope,” the kind that tells us things will be better someday if we can just hold on. Yet what Jeremiah describes, and what this song reflects, is a daily hope. This hope that doesn't require the season to end before it arrives.
Looking back on my burnout season, I can now see that I was trying to earn my way to a better version of myself. While I was trying to earn God’s gifts, His love and care showed up in the small, unremarkable ways.
"I once was lost, but now I'm found." There are eight words in this lyric from “Look What God Has Done,” and they carry hundreds of years of history.
Most people recognize the phrase from John Newton's "Amazing Grace, " a hymn written by a former slave trader who almost died during a storm at sea. Newton knew what it meant to be lost, in the deepest sense of the word.
His hymn drew from personal experience and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Luke 15:20 says this: “And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”
I love that phrase, “while he was still a great way off.” While he smelled like a pig pen and rehearsed his apology, the father was already running. Being found means a father spots you from a distance and refuses to wait for you to make it the rest of the way.
When you consider this reference in “Look What God Has Done,” the band’s name takes on new meaning. Their name carries both words and both audiences - the lost and the found - as they seek to bring joy and share the Gospel with as many listeners as possible.
I wonder about your story. Is there a moment God showed up while you were still a great way off? Are you in the middle of one of those moments today?
Instead of wishing you were somewhere else, what if you started there? Gratitude and worship remind you of who God is and anchor you to what God has already done. Let this be your takeaway: Hope and mercy are available each day, right where you are, even in the hardest seasons.
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker who loves tacos, matcha, and sneakers. Scott's writing has impacted over six million readers through trusted platforms such as the YouVersion Bible App, Air1 Radio, and Our Daily Bread. Whether speaking on a stage or writing on a page, he offers a steady, empathetic voice that reassures people they are seen, loved, and not beyond God's healing reach. He’s the author of Faith Behind The Song, a new devotional book published by K-LOVE Books. Forty-five thousand subscribers from over fifty countries are excited to read his free newsletter every Tuesday morning. You can join that list today at ScottSavageLive.com.
