By Clare BruceFriday 3 Jul 2015Inspirational StoriesReading Time: 8 minutes
From time to time at Hope 103.2 we get the privilege of hearing incredible stories from listeners, about a specific moment when their lives were touched by a song.
Here’s just a few.
‘Eyes On The Prize’ by Sara Groves
Hope 103.2 listener Sonja said Sara Groves’ song about not giving up, gave her the strength to continue after the death of her 10-year-old son.
“I was ready to give up on my life and my faith,” she said. “I was en-route to the morgue to dress my dead child for burial. He had died suddenly through the night from a cardiomyopathy. I was so angry with God. I couldn’t understand why he had taken this treasure from me, and he just seemed to be silent. I couldn’t feel that kind of spirituality that you want to feel in those moments.
“I slammed the radio on in my anger to break the silence and this amazing song came on by Sara Groves called Eyes OnThe Prize, and the lyrics just spoke to my soul about holding on through the toughest of trials.”
“And in the later verses it talks about how the chains fell off for Paul and Silas when they were bound and in prison. And the name Silas seemed to resonate with me and I didn’t know why, but it was a really comforting name. Now three years have passed and I’m having a son – and God has told me to name him Silas. So thank you Hope 103.2 for being there for me.”
‘Before The Morning’ by Josh Wilson
For Randwick woman Nikki, a worship song she heard on Hope 103.2 while driving home one day, literally helped save her marriage.
“I was going through such a difficult time in my marriage for a couple of years and I was so ready to give up,” she said. “I’d made a decision one day on the way home that I was going to tell my husband “it’s over, we’ve tried everything, we can’t do any more, it’s done.
“I was listening to Hope 103.2 and the song that came on the air was Before The Morning by Josh Wilson. It’s an amazing song that talks about looking beyond your circumstances to see God in your moment of need. It spoke to me, it was so powerful. I turned it up and up, tears were streaming down my face, and I got home and walked in the door and looked at my husband and said, “God’s not giving up on us so we’re not giving up”.
“That was five years ago and we’re still going strong.
“Hope 103.2 is part of our family now, part of our lives. I can’t imagine you not being there to wake up to and to lift me up when I need it.”
“It’s so easy to walk out of a marriage because it’s hard work. And just turning on that radio for me and listening and just having God speak to my heart through those songs, through your words, is just powerful. If that can help somebody else the way it’s helped me and my husband, it’s just amazing, it’s just a miracle.
‘Praise You In This Storm’ by Casting Crowns
Debbie was grieving over the loss of her unborn child, when a Casting Crowns song changed her perspective in the midst of her despair.
“Seven years ago I lost a baby when I was seven months pregnant,” she said. “I got a virus and the baby died. The next few months after that were pretty terrible for me, and sometimes I felt like I couldn’t breathe, let alone ever trust God again or be happy.
“I was driving along one day and a song came on the radio when I was listening to Hope 103.2, and it was called I’ll Praise You In This Storm [by Casting Crowns]. It talked about how God will catch all your tears, it didn’t matter how bad the storm was that was going on in your life, that you could still praise God in the storm. It was a life changing moment for me. I’m grateful that I was listening to Hope and that I heard that message.”
- Mark Hall from Casting Crowns shares the story behind the song.
‘Made To Love You’ by Toby Mac
For Lisa from Port Macquarie, one of Toby Mac’s best-known songs threw her a lifeline in her darkest hour.
“There was a time when I was driving to a court case,” she explained, “applying for an AVO to help protect my son and I. I was feeling very alone. I was a new Christian at the time. I texted my sister and asked “what’s that Christian radio station?” She told me 103.2, I tuned it in, and straight away a beautiful Toby Mac song started, Made To Love You, and it just lifted my spirits.
“I listened to it all the way through and I got goosebumps and felt this calm come over me. I had heard my sister singing that song before but I didn’t understand it. But listening in my car that day I totally got it, and knew in that moment who I was and that I was made to love God and represent Him.
“Then all these other amazing songs followed it, including one by Casting Crowns, and these songs just kept on reminding me I wasn’t alone, that God was with me and that everything would be OK.”
‘The Hurt And The Healer’ by Mercy Me
When Hope listener Abby lost her mother suddenly, Mercy Me’s song The Hurt And The Healer took on new meaning for her.
“I knew mum was in heaven but I was still dealing that loss…” ~ Abby
“I lost my mum very suddenly,” she said. “She was on holidays, and the day before she was to come home she had an aneurysm and passed away overseas. We were going through planning the [funeral] service, and getting her body over here, and it was all very surreal,” Abby said. “I knew mum was in heaven but I was still dealing that loss. Then I heard the song The Hurt And The Healer on Hope 103.2.”
Abby had previously heard the song live at a Mercy Me concert, where lead singer Bart Millard explained the songs’s inspiration. He wrote it after losing someone very close to him and going through a time of grief.
“I was reminded of his testimony of grieving and asking God “what is your plan”, and of how that’s when Jesus becomes so real to you, in that time of grief, in that time of not understanding, and looking for answers. I sent the song to my family to encourage them to keep on going. That really stands out as a time when Hope 103.2 was a real light to me.”
- Bart Millard shares the story behind the song on Godtube.
- See Mercy Me’s official lyric video on Youtube.
‘Redeemed’ by Big Daddy Weave
Windsor man Lyndsay said he was encouraged during a time of unemployment by Big Daddy Weave’s inspirational song, Redeemed.
“Late last year I was made redundant from a job that I thought was quite secure,” he said. “Then I got placed in another job that I thought was the calling of God but it didn’t last long. I got really discouraged and my self-worth went down.
“One day I tuned into Hope 103.2 and heard the Big Daddy Weave song Redeemed and it just gave me such a revelation of how much I’m loved. That no matter what I think of myself, God will always think much more of me. Here we are six months later and I’ve had a career change and I’m a job that I absolutely love and I’m so blessed by it.”
- Mike Weaver from Big Daddy Weave shares the story behind the song.
‘Cinderella’ by Stephen Curtis Chapman
Andrew from Cranebrook, a father of two autistic children, said the songs on Hope 103.2 often get him through hard times, particularly one song about the bond between a father and a daughter.
“Whenever I hear Cinderella by Stephen Curtis Chapman I often ball my eyes out,” he said. “The song always reminds me of my relationship with my daughter Mackenzie, who has autism. There is a lot we can’t do because of her autism, but I don’t have to do those things in order to have a relationship with her.
“We do have a lot of fun and regardless of our situation she still needs me as a Dad, and she knows she can come to me anytime. I will be there for her always and that is my song for us. It’s special.
“Both of my kids have special needs, and for us listening to Hope 103.2 is a way of giving us hope and filling our hearts to know that you can get through, that there is something bigger than what you’re going through.”
- Stephen Curtis Chapman shares the story behind the song.
‘He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands’ by Tim Hughes
For Sandy from Narrabeen, it was one of Tim Hughes’s famous worship songs that lifted her worries off her shoulders.
“Years ago I was really upset about my daughter and worried about something,” she said. “I was listening to the radio station and they played the song about how God’s got the whole world in his hands [by Tim Hughes].
“The song spoke to me and the burden was lifted. For days and days, every time I thought of that song [I knew] that God was looking after my daughter and everything would be ok and I was absolutely fine.”
‘Do Something’ by Matthew West
When Ally from Sydney’s north shore heard Matthew West’s song Do Something she was deeply impacted and inspired to take action.
“It’s a song about how there are so many troubles in the world,” Ally said, “and how we often ask God, “what are you going to do about it”. And in the song God’s answer is ‘I created you’. It basically shows us that we have the power to make change.
“I know what to do about this now!” ~ Ally
“Something had been on my heart for months and months and I was asking God about it, and then one day I heard that song on Hope 103.2 and had this lightbulb moment. I realised I could make a change myself and thought, “Oh, I get it! I know what to do about this now!”
“The end result of the spiritual prompt was that I started volunteering for an organisation that helps people with disabilities. I just wanted to give back to society and do something practical with my hands and feet. I think I get more out of it than they get from me.”