“Surely we can change…something.”

The other night the three of us went to what we thought was going to be a college and young adults group at a church up in Vacaville. It turns out they’ve done some reorganizing with the program and what we went to was a jr. high and high school event. We were cool with that, especially because we only were really going for their worship anyway. Worship was great at this place, passionate anointed people leading a huge group of young people in praising God, it was awesome and I’m glad we all went. We bailed after worship and then we did what we always do; we sat in my car in the parking lot, listened to music, and talked to each other. That night we actually had things to do in my car! We had a stack of 120 support letters for this trip to stuff into envelopes and get ready to send to everyone we know. We sat there for probably two hours listening to a David Crowder Band CD and folding letters. It was great, and we always have good conversation. But then something happened. We had just finished putting together the last of the letters, and were just talking when the last song on the CD came on. Amanda whispered, “Turn it up.” For the next six minutes we sat there without saying a word to each other but simply listening to this song, soaking up every word. It was one of the holiest and most worshipful moments I can remember in a long time. It didn’t take a big band, fancy lights, a big group of people, or a snazzy video to go with it all. God met us where we were. He met three college students sitting in a car in a random parking lot in Vacaville. It was perfect, just sitting there with those two friends and being moved by the Holy Spirit in that way was something special. And then there was the song itself. It wasn’t just some random David Crowder song, and this one has been speaking to me for a long time now.

“Where there is pain,
Let us bring grace.
Where there is suffering,
Bring serenity.
For those afraid,
Let us be brave.
Where there is misery,
Let us bring them relief.
And surely we can change,
Surely we can change,
Oh surely we can change…something…the whole world’s about to change.”

“Surely We Can Change” by David Crowder, it’s quite a song.

For a long time I’ve been chasing this idea that I can somehow, with the help of God, change the world and make a huge difference here, all the while thanking Him that I haven’t become too cynical to believe otherwise. I often have conversations with my friends about this stuff, whether or not we think we’ll make a difference. Most of my friends think it’s impossible to make s significant difference in our world today. But I love this song because it’s about just that, about making changes in the world, and not big sweeping changes but rather real change that effects the entire world, change that stems from single acts of kindness, peace, and grace, change that affects one person at a time. Just look at Jesus, he completely changed history by teaching his message and loving weirdos. This song is why I’m so excited for the Dominican Republic. I get to go to a foreign country and love people for eight weeks, what could be better than that? I’ve always said that I want to change the world, and I hope that we are.

Like I said, I’ve had plenty of conversations lately about my place in changing the world. Often I become discouraged because my friends believe there’s nothing we can do that has any significance. But when I look at myself and where I’m at, I think I’m at a point in my relationship with God and my own willingness to go for Him that there’s nothing else I can do but at least try to change…something.

-Matthew