It's Time - Song Blog

“He makes everything beautiful in its time.”

If you really think about it, seasons are kind of a crazy thing. When God created the universe and the world we live in, He established it to experience different seasons. He didn’t just pick one, He picked four and called them Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. They are unique and distinctly different from one another, even though they repeat each year. Every season has its flavors, scents, sights, sounds, and experiences.

Everyone has their favorite season. Can you think of yours? Maybe it’s Summer when the sun rays are in full force and you find yourself poolside on a lazy Saturday with your sweet tea. Maybe you’re the wintery type of person and you love heading for the hills with your snowsuit and skis. It’s possible, rather, that you are the type who loves to curl up in your favorite chair, hot coffee in hand to watch the leaves Fall on a cold October afternoon. Maybe you’re like me and you really love the Spring because everything is coming back to life and your senses are taking in all the newness. No matter what season you enjoy or dislike the most, we go through all of them.

While it’s no secret that seasons are part of the natural world, they are also embedded in the spiritual one. In a metaphorical way, we all walk through seasons in our personal lives and our relationships with God and each other. Some seasons are sweet, some are bitter. Some seasons are gray and others are bursting with color. Some feel like they will never end and others we wish would stick around forever. Yet still, there is beauty in every season. If you look for it, you will find it.

One thing that we can take heart in is the reality every one of our seasons has a God-given purpose. Each one has been established and ordained for our good. Though we live in a broken imperfect world and we often experience pain and suffering, we serve a God who is a Redeemer of the time.

Maybe you’re walking through a really difficult time right now. Maybe you feel like the winter rains have been pouring for way too long. Maybe you think that God has forgotten your struggles and is leaving you stuck. I want to encourage you to hold on. I want to tell you that there is more to come and your story is still being written.

It could be that you’re thriving in life and you can’t count your blessings because there are so many. I want to encourage you to share that experience with others. I want you to take it all in and thoroughly enjoy it. You might find yourself walking through something difficult in the near future and will need to lean on the history of God’s faithfulness in the past.

We serve a God who is a Redeemer of time.

Regardless of whatever season you are in, God has a purpose for you in it. I can tell you from personal experience that recently I have walked through some really challenging times in my life. In the last couple of years, I have struggled to see God’s purpose in certain parts of my journey. I have had a lot of questions for the Lord. I have wrestled with doubts and fears more than ever before. There have been broken relationships, losses, and things I have had to grieve. There was a moment earlier this year when I wondered when the heaviness would ever lift and what it would feel like coming to the other side of this season. Would I ever be as happy as I once felt? Would I understand the purpose of this hardship?

Something that I am incredibly grateful for is the reality that God doesn’t waste anything. Even when we feel like God is absent from our story or His presence seems far away, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I like to think that God is teaching us how to trust Him when we can’t feel Him. He’s teaching us how to navigate and endure harsh seasons not because He is cruel or doesn’t care how we feel. He is using the seasons that we experience to make us better, stronger, and more like who we are created to be. He is using the seasons of life to make us more like Jesus.

When I started writing the song “Time,” which this blog is about, I remember I was at the beginning of a really challenging transition. This transition wasn’t just involving my career, but where I lived, the community I was in, and even saying goodbye to some people that really meant the world to me. It was hard to face the reality of change.

I remember the day this song began to unfold. My friend and producer, Mark Alan Schoolmeesters had just flown into Nashville to spend a few days writing with me and working on my new album. He showed up with some lyrics that really spoke to my heart and grabbed my attention. “It’s time for the birds to sing again, time for the grass to green again.”  Something in my heart knew that this was an important song. There was just something special about it.

We talked, processed, prayed, and began crafting the rest of this song. It felt evident that this song needed to be about God’s ability to make everything beautiful (Ecclesiates 3:11). His ability to redeem anything and His mercies that triumph over judgment. In the midst of my own questions and processing, God used Mark to help me write this song and begin a healing journey.

"How far we can bend, but still we don’t break.”

I love the chorus of this song because it’s really simple, based on scripture, and it’s just true. It’s a declaration of what God promises He will make of our good days and our worst days. While the verses of the song paint a bigger picture of how God is actively bringing renewal into different seasons and circumstances of life.

Time is a song about the journey of life that we are all navigating. It’s a reminder that when we are walking humbly, with open hearts and open hands, we can be of the best service to God and to others. When we make ourselves to be willing vessels in this way, God’s goodness and abundance can flow through us in miraculous ways.

No matter what season we are currently in, I believe the Lord is teaching us that we are not as fragile as we think. I actually think He is making us anti-fragile. I believe that He is showing us just “how far we can bend, but still, we don’t break.” It’s not because of some inherent strength that we have in and of ourselves…it is the strength that has been imparted to us in Christ. It’s actually through the testing and trials that we are being refined and perfected in Him.

I hope you will take some time, no pun intended, to listen to my new song “Time” when it releases in just a few short weeks. I am praying that it speaks to you and encourages you in your journey with God. I am praying that it reminds you of just how beautiful and precious this life is. I pray that it points you to the One who makes meaning and purpose of it all. He makes everything beautiful in His time.

BEHIND THE SONG HOLD ON

HOW I MADE IT THROUGH THE HARDEST SEASON OF MY LIFE

I wrote the song HOLD ON during one of the hardest seasons of my life. Not only was 2020 challenging for the world at large, but every one of us was impacted on a different level. We all experienced uncertainty, sudden change, loss, and grief. Allow me to share my experience with you and how the Lord has carried me through it.

I’ve been a worship leader, pastor, songwriter, and artist for over a decade now. I spent most of my 20s helping to build a local church, growing as a young writer, and pioneering a thriving worship ministry. My journey has been so special and I am thankful for how God has graciously guided me through it and expanded my territory. From the outside looking in all of this sounds amazing (and it truly has been) yet simultaneously I was fighting battles and struggling at certain times along the way.

In 2020, when everything went crazy with the world…I found myself in a scary place. I was battling anxiety, fear, and depression. This was especially hard for me to admit because these are things that I sing about overcoming in my songs. Suddenly, the responsibility of leading others caused intense pressure that I could not bear. Yet, there I was struggling with all of the uncertainty that had suddenly overshadowed the world.

During the year, I began to endure losses, setbacks, and grief like I had never experienced before. I lost 3 family members and one close friend. I caught covid and though it was mild (thank the Lord) there were a lot of health issues that started to surface after I had recovered. I transitioned out of the church job I held for 9 years, sold my dream home, and relocated to a new town. It was so much change all at once. Everything that was happening felt like an overload to me and it wasn’t long before my body began reacting. I started experiencing panic attacks and anxiety. It was during this time that I felt alone and began to cry out to the Lord in my distress. I was reminded of the power of lamenting and how healthy it is to do so.

You see, when we read through the book of Psalms, we get an accurate picture of what worship truly looks like. It’s not just the mountaintop experiences that shape our praise and worship; it’s also learning how to worship God in the valley. I know that I felt like I was in an endless valley. When your vision becomes consumed by everything that is going wrong you recognize how much you need the Lord to bring you through the fire. I share all of this because I want to give you a backdrop for why the song HOLD ON was written. I needed God to remind me of what He was saying in my time of need. I needed Him to comfort and affirm me. The verses of the song are my plea and prayer for His help. Letting Him know that even when I’m walking through the valley, I’m still looking to the hills and I am counting on Him.

The chorus of the song is the Lord’s response. It’s a reassurance of His kindness and gentleness reminding me, “Corey, all you have to do is hold on. You ARE going to make it through this hard time. I’ve got you. Trust Me.” When the whole world seems like it’s spinning out of control, it remains true that our God is not shaken. He is faithful to the very end…and beyond.

As I am writing this, I am reminded of just how faithful the Lord is. During a trying time, He has led me to a place of healing and confidence. He is restoring my hope with a new beginning. I’ve been able to take my prayers, laments, and triumphs and write them into songs that I can’t wait to share with the world.

It is my prayer that this song HOLD ON encourages and strengthens those who feel like they’re walking through the hardest time of their lives. It’s for anyone desperate for hope. It’s your anthem from the Lord letting you know that you are going to make it through. Everything is going to be okay and a new beginning is on the way.