From the Inside Out

Music can be powerful. Many songs or musical pieces have an emotional connection for me, from having been playing during certain events that I remember very well, events that were often themselves rather emotional in some sense. Some other songs just evoke an emotional response, whether from the words themselves, the music, or both. For some of those pieces of music, like “The Pines of Rome: The Pines of the Appian Way” by Ottorino Respighi, I just have to stop what I’m doing, sit back and take in the music any time I hear it played. In any case, almost any time I hear particular songs, many memories and emotions often come back.
One such song for me is the praise song “From the Inside Out.” I’d heard/sung it a couple times before, but I’ve really been taken by that song since early August last year when we played it at church one Sunday. We had a full band, including Owen coordinating that week and playing guitar, Alex on piano, and me on vocals for the first time ever at E-Free. Out of all the weeks that I’ve played with the worship team at church, that stands out as one of the most memorable weeks for me. The whole worship set that week was amazing, with a lot of passion in the music, both in the words and because of the energy with which we played/sang it, especially led by Owen & Alex. In the course of singing it several times in the rehearsals and for both Sunday services, I really became familiar with it, internalized it and grew to love it. Now it’s one of my favorite songs. Every time I hear, sing or play that song, I’m reminded of the emotions I had that Sunday in August.
What brought this song to mind again was that we played it at church this Sunday (this time I was playing piano, with Lance on bass, Ben on guitar, and Mike, Sue & Krysta on vocals). And once again I was quite moved by it as we played it. It’s been going through my head since rehearsal on Saturday night, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what the song says. The message of “Inside Out” is one of submission to God, and praising Him for His eternal glory. It is so prayerful and powerful (“In my heart and my soul / Lord, I give you control / Consume me from the inside out, Lord … And the cry of my heart / Is to bring You praise / From the inside out / Lord, my soul cries out”), that it’s hard not to be moved to a greater desire to serve and worship God with my whole being. It was on my mind during PSCG Bible study last night too, as we were watching a video by Joe Stowell (formerly of Moody Bible Institute) on the importance of not merely following Christ, but being devoted to Him. The more we allow Christ to change every part of our lives, from the inside out, the more we are filled with His love, which then can overflow to others around us. I quite often fail at letting Jesus change *every* part of my life, though, but that’s why I’m so thankful for God’s mercy and grace. It’s my prayer that God would consume me from the inside out.