This song by Colton Dixon was another one requested for me to review. On the surface, this song seems overtly Christian, yet it never mentions God or Jesus Christ by name. It also does not speak of the Gospel Message of the forgiveness of sins, achieved by Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. But I think it is a good one to still review.
Colton said this about his song: “Now more than ever, people need Jesus – whether they realize it or not. God wants to reach people where they are. This song was originally written by some guys in Sweden. It was more of a relationship song about escaping the world with your person in life and settling down somewhere away from the chaos. I heard the song and wanted to change its meaning to something even more profound. I was immediately taken to the Noah story in the Bible. They allowed us to rewrite the song.”
If we read between the lines and assume that the “You” in this song is the Triune God of the Christian faith, then it becomes more of a Christian song. If we assume that this song is speaking about God’s restoration of mankind through the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, then we realize that this song is one of faith, trust, and hope in the Lord.
The lyrics of the song are:
“I’ve been wandering through the desert. Ain’t seen a cloud in forever over me, but I believe the rain is coming. I’ve been hangin’ on to high hopes, cuz You’re the One who’s making dry bones come to life. You’re the light I put my trust in. Every Word You say’s gonna come true. You will lead me to the promised land. Everything You said’s gonna happen, even though I haven’t seen it yet.”
“I will build a boat in the sand, where they say it never rains. I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes. With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades. I’ll build a boat in the desert place. And when the flood and the water starts to rise; yeah, I’ll ride the storm cuz I got You by my side. With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades. I’ll build a boat, so let it rain.”
“You’re the map, You’re my compass. You help me navigate the current under me. Take the lead, I surrender. Every word You say’s gonna come true. You will lead me to the promised land. Everything You said’s gonna happen, even though I haven’t seen it yet.”
“I will build a boat in the sand, where they say it never rains. I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes. With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades. I’ll build a boat in the desert place. And when the flood and the water starts to rise; yeah, I’ll ride the storm cuz I got You by my side. With Your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades. I’ll build a boat, so let it rain.”
I wanted to hone in on a couple parts of the song’s chorus. First, Colton sings: “I will build a boat in the sand, where they say it never rains.”
You see, there are a lot of Christians that say that it never rained before the flood. And the source of that assumption is based on these verses in the Bible: “When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up – for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.” (Genesis 2:5-6 ESV)
But you see, those verses are saying that God did not let it rain on the earth’s surface BEFORE the creation of mankind on the sixth day of Creation. There were over 1,600 years from when Adam was created until the Great Flood occurred. And there was clearly vegetation for Adam to tend to in the Garden of Eden that would have been watered by rain.
But really, we don’t know if it rained or not before the flood. I just don’t think it’s a safe assumption that it NEVER rained before the flood. But we do know that there had never been a flood like the Great Flood before – and there never will be again.
“I establish My covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:11-13 ESV)
Then Colton sings: “I will stand up in faith, I’ll do anything it takes.”
God gave us the free gift of salvation through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. God did this for us only out of His divine goodness, mercy, and grace – in other words, out of His everlasting love for us.
We do not deserve His grace, mercy, forgiveness, or love … we deserve His eternal wrath and punishment for our sins against His perfect holiness.
But God loves us anyways. And He gives us His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love anyways.
We can’t do anything to warrant such a wonderful gift from our Creator. So, rejoice that God love you! Give thanks to Him for His willful sacrifice of His life to give you eternal life. Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ’s atonement for your sins through His death.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
Soli Deo Gloria!
Philip Frank
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