Christian Music Picks: "Preach" by Ryan Stevenson

One of my favorite songs to currently listen to on a daily basis is called "Preach" by Gotee Records recording artist Ryan Stevenson and Matt Hammitt, the former lead singer of the Christian pop/rock band Sanctus Real.

The song speaks of how our everyday conduct is a sermon in and of itself to a lost and dying world. What kind of message will we send to onlookers? Will we show the lost what a changed life looks like -- one filled with grace, love, faith, and compassion?

The song is also vulnerably honest in that it admits our shortcomings while expressing our heart's cry and dependence on God to live out our faith.

"I talk about peace/And I talk about hope/I talk about serving others/But most days I don't ... Lord, give me strength to live what I believe."

When Stevenson sings of wanting his life to testify even in weakness, I think of of the valleys that he has walked through, such as the twin miscarriage he and his wife Kim suffered, and the loss of his mother Phyllis -- who had encouraged him to pursue music -- due to bone cancer. I believe that Stevenson's life is indeed a testimony as he sings of trust amid pain in his well-known songs "When We Fall Apart" and "Eye of the Storm."

I also personally find Matt Hammitt's appearance on the song especially powerful, as a few years ago I watched a YouTube episode of Focus on the Family that featured Hammitt and his wife Sarah talking about how they fought for their marriage amid several challenges. Hammitt was away touring a lot, had a son born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, and found himself in a difficult situation where had to cut ties with a female business associate who was becoming too personal for comfort.

"About 2014 I started to feel that restlessness inside of me of, 'How do I be the father and the husband that God's called me to be? How do I live this more and sing it less?'" the father of four explained, speaking of his decision to walk away from Sanctus Real. "And the thing I knew I needed to do to live the message that I had been singing was for me to step away from that life that had really taken me away from Sarah and the kids so many days of the year for so many years."

The song reminds me of 1 Peter 2:12, which states from the Amplified Bible, "Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy]."

It also is reminiscent of a composition that I myself wrote years ago, which states, "Could my laughter shed Your pure joy/Or my eyes emit Your peace/If I decline to stand behind/The me my flesh fights to be/Buff me until You're satisfied/Rid me of this dulling dirt/The harshness that drives men from the truth/If eyes are watching me closely/Both on and off this stage/I want to radiate You."

If you have not had the honor of listening to the song "Preach" by Ryan Stevenson and Matt Hammitt, please do so today. I pray that it will become a catalyst in your soul to know that actions speak louder than words, and every life speaks something. What does yours say? May our lives joyfully and clearly proclaim, "Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!"