Cleansing Waters
- Jill Miller
- Sep 16, 2015
- 4 min read
Blog – 9-16-15 Cleansing Waters Flow
A good friend of mine from Nashville, Rachel Barrentine, and I are writing a very special project together. We both sing at Celebrate Recovery groups across the country, and we are in the process of writing a song for each of the 12 Steps. If you’re not familiar with Celebrate Recovery, it’s a 12-Step program like AA and Al-Anon, but it has a biblical focus to it. It also is not limited to addicts or codependents but is open to anyone who has a hurt, habit or hang-up, which is basically ALL of us!
Rachel and I met in Nashville through Randy Dorman, the guy I talked about in earlier blogs (the son of Mama Bear!). The three of us wrote a great song together, and after the write Rachel approached me about her idea for this project. I knew right away this was something I definitely wanted to be a part of because I was involved in Al-Anon for many years, and we made plans to begin the process.
From the start, the songs have come together in a very anointed way. Each of the 12 Steps has had a different feel, and the songs have come together fairly quickly. We were a little nervous about Step 4, however, because it’s a very tough step. Step 4 reads, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” This is where you have to get very real with yourself, and there’s no holding back. Taking an honest look at your faults and how you have sinned and hurt others, reacted badly to situations, and basically messed up is not a fun proposition. I remember when I completed this step myself, and it was absolutely gut-wrenching. It’s hard to be brutally honest with yourself and admit your faults. How do you write a song that can be encouraging and somehow uplifting for this step?
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord,” (Lamentations 3:40) is the verse that goes along with this step in CR. It is a scriptural reminder of the importance of self-examination and taking an inside look. It’s painful, it’s hard, but it’s how we grow. Rachel and I started talking about how it’s like going down to a river and washing yourself clean from all the junk that’s inside of you. We started getting a picture of how God invites us to meet Him there so we can let him wash those hurts, habits, and hang-ups away.
The Good News for all of us is found in the lyrics to our chorus. It goes like this:
I bring my mess, my brokenness You wash away all my shame With Your blood that makes me whole I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow
Because of the blood Jesus poured out on the cross for each of us, we can ALL go to the river and have our sins washed away. We can all be made clean because of His sacrifice. Letting go of the guilt and shame we all carry around gives us freedom to be everything God created us to be. Knowing that God still loves us in spite of how we mess up and and believing that we are all free to stand under His fountain of grace is life-changing truth!
Rachel and I hope and pray that as you listen to this song you will feel God’s Cleansing Waters Flow! There’s a link at the bottom of this blog where you can listen to the song.
Please check out Rachel’s music and ministry at http://rachelbarrentine.com/
Hugs and love,
~Jill
CLEANSING WATERS FLOW Words and music by Jill Miller and Rachel Barrentine ©201
I’ve been hiding behind a mask My inner demons chain me to my past Trying to cover all these wretched scars But these secrets starve my thirsty heart
My sin hits me like a desert storm I’m buried under the guilt I can’t ignore But then You whisper, child, come to me Come to the river where you can be redeemed
I bring my mess, my brokenness You wash away all my shame With Your blood that makes me whole I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow
I feel the rushing water on my skin Your healing current gives me life again The heaviness I’ve carried drifts away I’m underneath the fountain of Your grace
I bring my mess, my brokenness You wash away all my shame With Your blood that makes me whole I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow
Cleansing waters flow, cleansing waters flow Cleansing waters flow, cleansing waters flow
I bring my mess, my brokenness You wash away all my shame With Your blood that makes me whole I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow I come to the river where Your cleansing waters flow
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