“Wow, this feels like I’m watching my childhood on the big screen.”
Earlier this year, I took my kids to go see a new movie based on my favorite video game as a kid. Based on two fictional Italian plumbers, this movie was full of countless references to the first video game I played as a seven-year-old. Watching high-definition images on a massive screen from the comfort of a leather recliner took me decades into the past remembering how I crouched in front of a 13-inch color TV.
One of my favorite features of this game was a “power-up” where I could obtain a prize that would make me “temporarily invincible.” For 10-15 seconds, nothing could hurt me and I could make it past many obstacles which normally would prove insurmountable. I would rush as fast as I could with this invincibility to reach my destination. Eventually, though, this power would wear off and I would return to my vulnerable, fragile state as a character.
I think many of us wish that following Jesus gave us that kind of “power-up” in real life. Perhaps you even expected that putting your faith in Jesus would give you a greater sense of power or even immunity from life’s greatest adversities. Some churches teach that if you have enough faith, then health, wealth, and happiness will be abundant in your future.
But, life doesn’t work like a video game.
Benjamin William Hastings knows this reality all too well and he writes from this kind of clear-eyed awareness in his song, “So Help Me God.”
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In an interview with TheChristianBeat.com, Hastings shared about the context for writing this particular song. “The chorus of that kind of came out when I think, in hindsight, I was really struggling with some mental health things and just didn't realize (it)...I think that was my spirit inside just being like you need something to strive towards.”
The chorus that Hastings mentioned above includes the following confession:
“And I might climb a mountain
Or maybe You’ll move it
But I’m gonna get through this
So help me God”
Hastings doesn’t hold onto an unrealistic promise that his faith will guarantee invincibility in the face of all obstacles. But, he does reiterate the encouragement that Jesus gave His disciples in John 16:33 when he said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
As a pastor, I listen to many new and seasoned followers of Jesus who are shocked when intense adversity invades their lives. Though they wouldn’t have spontaneously admitted it, their present experience reveals an unstated expectation.
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They expected their faith in Jesus, their diligence in spiritual practices, and their involvement in church activities to immunize them from suffering and loss. Like the power-up from my childhood video game, they anticipated passing over the mountains with ease as they followed Jesus on Earth.
In “So Help Me God,” Hastings invites worshipers to shift their focus from the life they expected to the God who is present with them in life as they experience it. Instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?” Hastings invites us to ask “Who am I experiencing God to be in the middle of this struggle?”
Echoing the words of Psalm 23, Hastings sings of God as our shepherd in all seasons of life.
“Should I fall into the valley
Or scale the ups of life
There’s a shepherd in the lowlands
And a shepherd in the heights”
Though the circumstances change as we move through prosperity and adversity, our Shepherd remains the same. It’s good to know a God who is this faithful!
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Later, in the song, Hastings leans into the theological idea of Incarnation - God took on a human body in the person of Jesus. This idea gets a lot of attention from believers in December, but it is a relevant truth 365 days a year.
In John 1:14, we read, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.” Meditating on this verse, Hastings makes a powerful observation in verse 2.
“Every God I’ve ever heard of
Sat so high above the Earth
Oh but You came down the mountain
Like a pilgrim in reverse”
As you listen to this song, it’s very apparent that Hastings is singing from a place of wonder and awe, mixed with perseverance. He’s looking at some real difficulty in the face, but he’s seeing the face of God in the midst of it, too.
In that same interview with TheChristianBeat.com, mentioned above, Hastings made a comment that I haven’t been able to shake for days. He noted, “After all, sometimes you gotta lie in the dirt just to stare at the stars." This observation hit me personally because, on multiple occasions, I laid down on the ground and had to dust myself off after a time of stargazing. While we would love to avoid the dirt of life, it is often the context that reveals God’s majesty and goodness to us in breathtaking ways.
So, if you’re what feels like the dirt, the valley, or facing a mountain, I pray that the honest hopefulness of “So Help Me God” offers you a vision you can embrace. You will never be invincible to adversity on this side of heaven, but you are going to get through this because of the God who is with you every step of the way!
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps you laugh, challenges you to think, and invites you to grow. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani, an award-winning attorney, and they are the parents of three growing savages. You can learn more about Scott’s newest resource, The Start-Over Guide, at scottsavagelive.com.
