Ellie Holcomb’s “I Will Carry You”
God’s Support for Hard Times
In our journey of faith, we often encounter moments that test our resilience, shake our foundations and sometimes, bring us to our knees. It’s in these moments that the true essence of our faith is not just tested but also strengthened. In an conversation with Family Life Radio, Ellie Holcomb shares about how her song, “I Will Carry You” came to be an anthem in her life of God’s faithfulness and grace.
She shares how the song, “I Will Carry You,” initially intended as a message for her daughter, evolved into something much more personal and universal.
Ellie shares, “My friend, Ben Glover and I wanted to write a song for our daughters. Quickly into writing the song, I realized that it was a song that I needed just as much, if not more than my little girl needed.”
Ellie and Ben were inspired by a powerful verse from Isaiah 41:13, which speaks of God’s unwavering support and reassurance in times of trouble. “That’s right. Because I, your God, have a firm grip on you and I’m not letting go. I’m telling you, ‘Don’t panic. I’m right here to help you’” (MSG).
No matter the turbulence you face, God’s presence is a constant, reassuring force.
Your Invitation
One of the most significant messages from Ellie’s experience is the invitation to lay our burdens down before God. As Christians, we often carry an array of burdens – from personal struggles to concerns for loved ones.
“Especially after the past couple years that we’ve been through their so many things that we that we all carry,” Ellie continues, “hopes, dreams, fears, grief, sorrow and the people that we love.”
Ellie says this song is an invitation from God to all who hear it to lay all of your burdens down. “My prayer for the song is when people listen to the song, they would be reminded that whatever they are carrying, they themselves are so beloved of God that they are carried in the arms of the one who holds all things together.”
When we’re falling apart, we can fall apart in His arms, and He’s still holding on to us.
You’ll find God’s invitation within the verse from 1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (ESV). Surrendering your worries and fears is an expression of your trust in God’s ability to carry you through.
“I Will Carry You”
The song took on a deeper meaning for Ellie after a tragic event. “Only a couple of months after the record release and this song was out in the wild, we got one of those calls that nobody is ever ready to get – horrible news that our pastor, as he was driving his daughter out to college, they were in a terrible accident, and both of them passed.”
Ellie share, “And man the grief in the wake of that was so massive. The next day after we got that phone call, I was supposed to record the video for ‘I Will Carry You.’ I didn’t know how I was going to make it through doing a music video.”
Ellie continued, “I felt like God planned that day just to remind me, that even when my heart is breaking, even when I am grieving, He is right there by my side. He is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And as I sing the song over and over again, I will carry you.”
In her grief, as she sang “I Will Carry You,” she says, “ My grieving heart needed to be reminded that God is a God who can carry us even through the depths of our deepest sorrows, aches and pain. If you are walking through a season of gief, through a season of loss – whether that’s personal or for people in your community, there is a God who says, ‘Don’t panic!’ He is right here to help you. He is not letting go of you.”
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