Raise a Hallelujah

I have been very intrigued by a song recently recorded by Bethel Music. Bethel Music is the music publishing and recording arm of the Redding, California, Bethel Church. The church is large and has a theological stance that leans heavily toward expecting healing miracles. They are a non-denominational charismatic church.

The song that has caught my attention is called “Raise a Hallelujah” and was written by Jonathan David Helser, Melissa Helser, Molly Skaggs, and Jake Stevens. (One name of note in that list is Molly Skaggs, the daughter of famous Bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs.) Jonathan David Helser found inspiration for the song in a dark time that resulted in a healing miracle. Helser and his wife are worship leaders at the church and work alongside Joel Taylor, CEO of the Bethel Music worship ministry. Joel’s two-year-old son Jaxon became grievously ill when he contracted a dangerous E. coli infection. Jaxon’s sister, Addie, also became ill but not to the same dangerous degree.

At one point, Joel Taylor called David Helser deeply concerned that Jaxon might die in the hospital. Helser remembers the pain and fear of this moment and then the song began to form. Right there in that quiet moment he began to “raise a hallelujah” and the song began to form in his heart. The song speaks of praising God in the midst of great darkness, fear, and many enemies. Word was sent out and the whole Bethel Church community began praying for Jaxon.  Jaxon recovered and walked out of the hospital a healthy two-year-old. Was this truly a God miracle or a medical miracle? We cannot be sure because God always leaves room for us to believe and room for us to doubt. By all that I have read, I would say that God healed this little boy and inspired the song to proclaim his love for his people.

This type of miracle can raise many questions and can inspire our hearts. In my own life these types of questions have led me to begin writing a book about the supernatural and God’s miraculous interventions in life. Pray with me that we might come to have an even better understanding of God’s work in our natural and supernatural world. The lyrics of the song follow.

Raise a Hallelujah

(listen as you read along)

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies

I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief

I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody

I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm

Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar

Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me

I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee

I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery

I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm

Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar

Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive!

Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)

Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)

Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)

Let's sing a little louder (Let's sing a little louder)

Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)

Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)

Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)

Sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)

Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)

Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)

Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)

Let's sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)

Sing a little louder!!

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm

Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar

Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive!

Oh, I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm

Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar

Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah!

Just begin to raise your own hallelujah

I can't do it for you

There's a song written on your heart only you can sing

And when you sing enemies flee

When you sing prison walls come falling down

When you sing heaven invades the earth

So just begin to lift up your hallelujah

Raise it like a banner

Raise it like a flag

Raise it in the middle of the storm

Let it rise, let it rise

Like a symphony to the King

Everything to You, Jesus

We raise it all

Sing a little louder!

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah (In the presence of my enemies)

I raise a hallelujah (Louder than the unbelief)

I raise a hallelujah (My weapon is a melody)

I raise a hallelujah (Heaven comes to fight for me)

Songwriters: Jonathan David Helser / Melissa Helser / Molly Skaggs / Jake Stevens

Raise a Hallelujah lyrics © Bethel Music Publishing

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

The Difficulty of Explaining Spiritual Experiences

“. . . spiritual matters are very hard to explain. . . . I am convinced that those who refuse to believe that God can do far more than this, and that He is pleased now, as in the past, to communicate Himself to His creatures, shut fast their hearts against receiving such favours themselves. Do not imitate them, sisters: be convinced that it is possible for God to perform still greater wonders. Do not concern yourselves as to whether those who receive these graces are good or wicked; as I said, He knows best and it is no business of yours: you should serve Him with a single heart and with humility, and should praise Him for His works and wonders.

-       Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle

The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila is a classic of spiritual literature. Teresa is a humble and devout follower of Jesus who experienced a great many spiritual manifestations. She saw miracles, experienced communication from God, and had physical experiences that both comforted her and caused her to repent of sin. Yet, she always found it difficult to explain her spiritual experiences to others and often repeated the sentiment that “spiritual matters are very hard to explain.” I would concur with this idea. The way that God communicates with each of us can be very unique and difficult to explain to someone else who may be wired quite differently from ourselves. Some of my own most intimate moments with God have left me overwhelmed and encouraged by His presence but when I try to explain them to even my closest friend (my wife), I am left speechless. When I share my journal writings with her she must sometimes wonder if I am having a schizophrenic break.

Yet, Teresa of Avila continues to encourage us to trust that God can do far more than one typically sees in the world and to never “shut fast our hearts against receiving such favours” ourselves. She says, “be convinced that it is possible for God to perform still greater wonders.” What wonders might we be missing because we have shut the door to miracles and manifestations of our God? How might He communicate with us if we truly opened ourselves to His presence?

Yet Teresa is also quick to direct us away from putting too much emphasis on the miracles of God. She reminds us that we are not to focus upon miracles nor only seek the spectacular in our relationship with Jesus. She says that we should simply, “serve Him with a single heart and with humility, and . . . praise Him for His works and wonders.” This too is good advice and I highly recommend reading The Interior Castle for a greater explanation of these matters.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

I have never met Mark A. Noll; but, if we ever do have a conversation together, I expect I would find myself very much agreeing with him. He is the sort of intellectual writer who is unafraid to turn over all of the stones and search for every seed of truth. He desires to take each gem of enlightenment captive to Christ. His most widely read book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, contains many great insights on the way in which mainstream Evangelicalism strayed so far from truth. He says,

. . . in their defense of the supernatural, fundamentalists and their evangelical heirs resemble some cancer patients. In facing a drastic disease, they are willing to undertake a drastic remedy. The treatment of fundamentalism may be said to have succeeded; the patient survived. But at least for the life of the mind, what survived was a patient horribly disfigured by the cure itself.[1]

The disfiguring to which Noll refers is the loss of a critical mind that exhibits a measure of skepticism regarding the miraculous and a healthy measure of skepticism appropriate to the scientific method. He is desirous that all Christians might live within the tension of belief and uncertainty. He further explains. “I was brought up in a Christian environment where, because God had to be given pre-eminence, nothing else was allowed to be important. I have broken through to the position that because God exists, everything has significance.”[2]

Still more clearly he says,

Who formed the world of nature (which provides the raw material for physical sciences)? Who formed the universe of human interactions (which is the raw material of politics, economics, sociology, and history)? Who is the source of all harmony, form, and narrative pattern (which is the raw material for art)? Who is the source of the human mind (which is the raw material for philosophy and psychology)? And who, moment by moment, maintains the connection between our minds and the world beyond our minds? God did, and God does.[3]

These words are extremely helpful as we each consider the relationship between faith and science, belief and agnosticism, and spirituality and materialism. May those who have comprehending minds meditate upon these thoughts.

Works Cited

Noll, Mark A. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995.

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[1] (Noll 1995)

[2] (Noll 1995)
[3] (Noll 1995)