I’m sipping my second coffee after lunch and scrolling through Spotify, expecting to find some new releases that will see me through my remaining tasks. The latest release from The Killers has me bopping along, then questioning my existence. Just another Friday afternoon, hey?
I often find that music has a way of helping us let down our guard and connect with other humans, even if we have different beliefs. My Own Soul’s Warning is the fresh release off the much anticipated album Imploding the Mirage. The track gives us the language to cry from our souls and the permission to question how we feel. Lead singer, Brandon Flowers, describes the making of this album as being reminiscent of their first album – making music which seeks to connect on shared feelings. It is also the first album The Killers are releasing officially without their former guitarist Dave Keuning – so far, it is a promising comeback since their last album release in 2017.
My Own Soul’s Warning presents an opportunity for anyone who reads today’s headlines (or the comments section!) and finds that there are many things that don’t sit right with their soul. It should get us thinking. It should get us asking questions. It should get us listening. No doubt the timing of this single release has been well thought through; 2020 hasn’t exactly been an easy year for anyone’s soul. My Own Soul’s Warning is the anthem for anyone facing a life decision, either for the first time or the first time in a long time, and dares them to see themselves as more than a clump of cells but as living beings with souls.
Unsurprisingly, Flowers is a man of faith and does not keep his Mormon faith hidden. Whilst I do not share the same beliefs, the first verse of My Own Soul’s Warning struck a familiar chord with me:
If you could see through the banner of the sun
Into eternity’s eyes like a vision reaching down to you
Would you turn away?
What if it knew you by your name?
What kind of words would cut through the clutter of the whirlwinds of these days?
It is an opportunity for us all to consider or reconsider the idea of God reaching down to us. Would you turn away? What if he knew you by your name?
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)
For me, these words of Jesus are the kind of words that cut through the clutter for my soul. At the end of the day, ignoring our gut feelings can lead to dire consequences. Embracing them without any understanding can also lead to many sleepless nights. How many of us submit to our soul’s yearnings only to find another dead end? Perhaps the feeling when ‘something just doesn’t feel right’ is a trigger to look to something bigger than ourselves. Rather than having to conjure up an answer within ourselves, we have been blessed with the ability to hope in something terrifyingly and wonderfully bigger. Whilst My Own Soul’s Warning doesn’t offer any resolutions, it is the honest cry of a man searching for peace – perhaps a peace he had known before (I just wanted to get back to where you are). Peace that gives him confidence to examine the cries of his soul and to rebuild his raison d’etre. As for me, Jesus is the one who can offer peace when my soul doesn’t feel right through all circumstances the world may give.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Interested in finding peace? This beautiful story of a young woman searching for peace is worth a listen. (Bigger Questions, Episode 116).
Scripted by Sharon 