At the end of a recent Yorkshire Youth Chorus rehearsal, one of the lovely young people came over to me for a chat. With his phone at the ready, he shared a Spotify link for an artist called Natalie Layne.
With a big smile on his face, he said, “I think you’ll like this.”
A few days later my messenger app pinged with a message from a different friend saying,
“Our favourite Christian artist at the moment is Natalie Layne…I wondered if you’d heard her because she’s your cuppa tea…”
Both friends were absolutely spot on!
Since this recommendation, I’ve not stopped listening to Natalie Layne, and our song for this week has been played over and over and over again (much to the annoyance of my family members).
‘Amen’ by Natalie Layne helps us to reflect on the goodness we see in “this crazy world we’re living in.”
It’s hard to turn on the news at the moment, isn’t it?
Whether it’s conflict abroad or at home, the world seems to be an increasingly unsafe place to be. It could just be that 24-hour news coverage and constant social media updates force us to face the evil in our world, but either way, it can feel inescapable.
Divisions are encouraged rather than discouraged and difference is used to breed contempt for others.
It’s hard to see much goodness in our world today, but it is there…if we look for it!
Take a moment to reflect on the different translations of Romans 12:21.
How can we take the message of this verse into our everyday lives?
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 NIV
Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Romans 12:21 MSG
Do not be overcome and conquered by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 AMP
Natalie’s song reminds us that if we take the time to notice, then God fills the world with his goodness through the people we meet. Through her lyrics, she encourages us to say ‘Amen’ each time we spot one of those moments.
Amen for the smile of a stranger,
Amen when the good guys win
When a prayer I pray is answered
And it stirs my faith again
Amen for a brand new chapter
Amen when the hard part ends
Amen, I’m friends with my Saviour
Again I say…
Natalie Layne
Imagine Natalie sitting at the piano, crafting the words of this song.
She’s working on the bridge section thinking of moments where she can say ‘Amen’.
She invites you to come and sit next to her, turns and asks,
“Again I say?”
You wonder what she means and then register that she’s asking you for your ‘Amen’ moments.
What would they be?
How would you answer?
As you move through your day-to-day life this week, look for those ‘Amen’ moments.
Oh, and how amazing would it be if we created an ‘Amen’ moment in the life of someone else?
Have a great week filled with wonderful ‘Amen’ moments.
Kay Moorby
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