Broken Hallelujah

It has come to my attention that 2014 is proving to be a challenging year for some people, myself included. Whether it be problems within the family, losing a friend too early, a health issue, extreme cold, or even uncertainty about what to do with their lives, 2014 has not been too kind to the people around me. So how do we find hope and strength in a hopeless and tough situation? For me, it has been through the song "Broken Hallelujah" by The Afters.

The inspiration for this song came to this band from the book of Job in the Bible, specifically from Job 1:15-22. In this portion of Job, Satan comes down and destroys absolutely everything that Job possesses. He loses all his animals, his property, and all his children. If I were in Job's position, I would be extremely pissed off at God. Instead of being angry, Job shaves his head and tears off his clothes, gets gown on his knees and cries out, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will return there. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1: 20,21). Despite his suffering, Job blesses and worships God.

My favorite line in Broken Hallelujah is "With nothing left to hold onto, I raise these empty hands to you. Here's my broken Hallelujah." When I hear these words, I envision myself on my knees with my hands raised telling God that even though I have nothing left to give and may be angry at Him, I will continue to praise Him because I know that something good is going to come out of this. As I've gotten older, I have found that when everything in my life seems to be out of control, the one thing that I can control is whether or not I continue to worship God. If I choose not to give God my broken hallelujahs, as Job did, I probably would not be able to come out the situation well.

If 2014 has reared it's head at you and is challenging you to no end, remember to still praise God in your anger.