Nothing Can Stop Our God

A few months ago, I had been reading some different scripture passages and reflecting on how unstoppable God is.  We tell him he is loving and great, but I was caught off guard by those passages that just state unashamedly – our God is the biggest and baddest (“bad” in a good way), and we will shout it from the rooftops.

One of those passages is Exodus 15.  The Israelites had just been delivered out of slavery and seen God physically man-handle the greatest army on earth.  They began to break out into song like this paraphrase from the Message:

Exodus 15

1-8 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God, giving voice together,

I’m singing my heart out to God—what a victory!
He pitched horse and rider into the sea.
God is my strength, God is my song,
and, yes! God is my salvation.
This is the kind of God I have
and I’m telling the world!
This is the God of my father—
I’m spreading the news far and wide!
God is a fighter,
pure God, through and through.
Pharaoh’s chariots and army
he dumped in the sea,
The elite of his officers
he drowned in the Red Sea.
Wild ocean waters poured over them;
they sank like a rock in the deep blue sea.
Your strong right hand, God, shimmers with power;
your strong right hand shatters the enemy.
In your mighty majesty
you smash your upstart enemies,
You let loose your hot anger
and burn them to a crisp.
At a blast from your nostrils
the waters piled up;
Tumbling streams dammed up,
wild oceans curdled into a swamp.

9 The enemy spoke,
“I’ll pursue, I’ll hunt them down,
I’ll divide up the plunder,
I’ll glut myself on them;
I’ll pull out my sword,
my fist will send them reeling.”

10-11 You blew with all your might
and the sea covered them.
They sank like a lead weight
in the majestic waters.
Who compares with you
among gods, O God?
Who compares with you in power,
in holy majesty,
In awesome praises,
wonder-working God?

That passage made me envision those Israelites standing at the banks of the Red Sea where they had seen God take care of them and protect them in such a mighty way, that they just stood there as a mighty army of God’s and proclaimed that nothing can stop our God.  No one can even come close.  He’s amazing.

After I read it, I went to the piano and began to sing these lyrics:

Nothing can stop our God, nothing can stop our God

No power can contend, your reign will never end

Nothing can stop our God, nothing can stop our God

Your ways are not our ways, accomplishing what you say

For nothing can stop our God

This week, I have been able to complete the song’s lyrics and work on a drum loop while really studying Scripture to try to capture the massiveness of our God.  I’m thinking about if there is a time to sing it corporately at North Side.  I am always wary of leading with original songs because I don’t want to promote me.  But I think there is also something special about songs from Scripture that arise in the local church body.  I think I know there are always “better” songs to sing than any one I could write, but I think there is something genuine about worshiping to songs that are birthed out of the experiences of a local church.

I am writing this as a warning: if I get bold enough in the weeks to come, we might worship to it at North Side.  It’s not the greatest song in the world, but as I have prayed, I just see North Side worshipers rising up like an army and chanting “nothing can stop our God.”  Have you seen all that he has done for us?  So if we do sing it, I might be excited.  Not cause I wrote it, but because it is just my heart’s cry right now.  Nothing can stop our Jesus.  Do you see what he is doing on this earth right now?!  The Kingdom is coming!