Have you ever heard something that touched your heart? Perhaps a song that took you back to an amazing memory, or a song that put you in a mindset to accomplish something or get through something else. Maybe you've listened to different playlists and discovered music that is perfect for studying, partying, or even just as a stress relief. One of those songs for me that really made me think about the lyrics and how they speak to me more than a catchy rhythm with words that rhyme and a fast beat, but as a story, is Danny Gokey's "Tell Your Heart To Beat Again."

The first time I heard "Tell Your Heart To Beat Again" I was going through a tough time in my life thinking of things that were not going right and no matter how hard I tried to be happy and put on the brave face, I had to earnestly tell myself that I was okay, and this song did a perfect job of ringing that bell, and ringing it hard.

The song starts out like this

You're shattered
Like you've never been before
The life you knew
In a thousand pieces on the floor

This first line hit me square in the face to a place I already knew to be true because I was so caught up in everything that was going wrong in my life that all I could think about was how I never saw these things happening to me personally.

And words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you're never gonna get back
To the you that used to be

This is pure truth right here. When you are driven to the point where you feel like you can't go on and people around you try to help and give their advice, even with the greatest intentions, it doesn't do the job. You feel like you'll never be able to get back to that super awesome place you were before this terrible thing came in and swept all of your happiness and will away.

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday's a closing door
You don't live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you've been
And tell your heart to beat again

This main chorus is the climax of the song in so many ways other than just "telling" your heart to beat again. It is about really accepting that when we step into the Grace that gets us through the impossible that we can step out of yesterday into today a different person. We can leave that old self behind and move on to the new things headed our way, but we have to tell ourselves to do it first. We have to tell our hearts to beat again.

These are all of the thoughts that run through my head for the first half of the song explained, but once the song was over I wanted to know more so I began to do some research thinking I would find some horrifying story about losing a loved one or a heartbreak that wouldn't go away, but I found something more amazing and shocking more than anything else.

STOP! Before you read below, open a new browser and go and listen to the song on youtube or spotify . Decide what you think the song is about and really think about the lyrics.

ARE YOU DONE LISTENING?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE SONG?

I am sorry to say, that it is more than likely not what you think. So the story behind the song is so powerful! Here it is straight from Danny Gokey:

"There was a pastor in Ohio who had a heart surgeon who went to his church and one of the things that this pastor wanted to do is he wanted to see a heart surgery take place. When the day of the surgery came they rolled in the patient in and they began to cut her chest cavity open, they took her heart out, and they began to repair it. One of the things they do is they have to restart the heart again before they close the chest cavity. As they begin to do the procedures to restart the heart, the heart wouldn't start. Finally, the Doctor did something so out of textbook, not written down, and something you just really don't do. He got down on his knees and said 'Mrs. Johnson this is your doctor, and we have fixed your heart. We have repaired it and there is nothing wrong with your heart. Mrs. Johnson I need YOU to tell your heart to beat again,' and her heart began to beat."

Why do I share this story with you? Because the Great Physician has fixed your heart and my heart. But I find it interesting that sometimes we allow the voice of the enemy to whisper louder than the voice of our father. It seems like some of these voices tell us that you know what? that situation we will never recover from, or what that person did we can never forgive again, I am here to let you know, you can forgive again, you can get back up again, you can move forward with your life, you don’t have to walk with a limp. It is simply like this doctor said to this lady. This lady had to come to an agreement the heart was repaired. God has fixed your problem. Your heart is fixed. But you have to come to an agreement with God...God wants to do the same for you. I want you to begin to hope again. He wants you to believe again, He wants you to trust again. The Great Physician, our father wants to tell you to "tell your heart to beat again.”

Not what you expected, right? Yeah, me neither. This is such a powerful story behind such a wonderful song. I hope that this song and it's amazing motivation can spread to the people who are in the place where they feel like their heart won't be able to beat again and that they can realize YOU CAN DO IT all you have to do is "Tell Your Heart To Beat Again."