The Soul-Shaking “After the Storm”
Take for example the song After the Storm from their album Sigh No More. The deep lyrics speak of profound spiritual truths, specifically suffering and the trials we face during our short-lived time on this Earth. Listen to the song, before you read on. Then I’ll take you verse-by-verse through the spiritual adventure that is this song.
Hitting Rock Bottom
“And after the storm, I run and run as the rains come. And I look up, I look up, on my knees and out of luck, I look up.”
Those most fortunate of us have come to know all to well the experience of hitting rock bottom, of losing everything, of falling to our knees and looking up to God. It’s a painful experience—the struggle and torment of life—but only “after the storm” can we see the day. Once you have nothing left to lose, only then can you gain God “who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:6).
Encounter Goodness Himself
“Night has always pushed up day. You must know life to see decay. But I won’t rot, I won’t rot. Not this mind and not this heart, I won’t rot.”
The negative always seems to take precedence over the positive, in our minds at least. We are always quick to bring up the bad sides of people or situation, only to forget the goodness. But when we have encountered goodness—or better yet the source of all goodness, God Himself—our eyes are in a sense opened to the reality of good and evil. We “see decay” and the disease of sin ravaging the Earth, but we are committed not to become spiritual zombies. We can proclaim “I won’t rot!”
Together with God
“And I took you by the hand. And we stood tall, And remembered our own land, What we lived for.”
The beauty of the Christian faith is that in order to possess the divine—the purpose of all the world religions—we don’t have to build a tower to God, because He has reached down from Heaven to help us up. In fact, He has stepped down from Heaven, “coming in human form” to show us our purpose, His plan. He has come to love. (Phil 2:5-11)
Truth Has a Name
“And now I cling to what I knew. I saw exactly what was true. But oh no more. That’s why I hold, That’s why I hold with all I have. That’s why I hold.”
After you’ve seen the light, encountered the truth, “the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). There is no going back. You must holdfast to the truth and truth has a name, Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).
Preparation for More
“And I won’t die alone and be left there. Well I guess I’ll just go home, Or God knows where. Because death is just so full and man so small. Well I’m scared of what’s behind and what’s before.”
Our entire life here on Earth is a preparation, of sorts, to enter into the eternal light of God. Death is a mystery, but also a reality that deep down we all must face. And when we face the unknown, there is a certain level of fear involved—or rather wonder and awe.
Made for Heaven
“And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.”
It all pays off. There is hope, something “eye has not seen, nor has ear heard … what God has in store for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). Heaven! We are bound for the fullness of life with the creator of life and life Himself, God. In Him there will be “no more tears” for sadness will be gone. Love will be fulfilled in every aspect of the word, so that we won’t need to fear rejection or pain. We will all be gathered as a family, as one Body, in perfect love, in God.
Good Music Brings You to God
And that’s what I enjoy so much about Mumford & Sons. All of their songs have deep meaning and their artistic expression adds even greater depth. They address a variety of Christian themes and spiritual topics like sin, love, redemption, healing, and forgiveness all with great charm and beauty. Songs like Awake My Soul and Below My Feet speak heavily of the life of the Christian.
I also think Mumford & Sons can serve as a great example of evangelization. Although their music is very spiritual you wouldn’t categorize their music as Christian music. This way they are able to reach more people. The label “Christian music” often puts you into the situation where you are just “preaching to the choir”. But by not fearing to go outside of that genre their music has become much more widespread. The same is true for the Gospel. Living your faith should bring you outside of the “church-crowd” and into the world, not that you will become “wordly”, but so that you can bring Christ into the world, “to the ends of the Earth”. That’s what evangelization is really all about.
So give them a listen and actually try to hear the words. I’m sure that you will find them as richly beneficial to your soul as I have. And please share in the comments.
You can purchase the song After the Storm from the album “Sigh No More” as well as other Mumford & Sons music on iTunes.