Note from Team LO: We are SO excited for today’s blog! We hope you love reading the inspiration and vision behind LO Worship’s FIRST SINGLE, “Compass”, available tomorrow, 10/30. And to keep up with all things LO Worship, follow them on Instagram @lo.worship. Enjoy today’s blog by LO Worship’s very own, Kaylea Mayo.

Hi, friends! My name is Kaylea, and I am a part of LO Worship. LO Worship is a band of friends striving to write lyrics and melodies that echo the sound of revival in our generation. We are actually releasing our first ever single tomorrow which is super exciting! We are praying that “Compass” would minister to you wherever you are. We are praying that it would bring you hope in times of disappointment, and we believe that it is going to increase your faith to keep holding onto the promise of God for your life. 

Sadie, Brantley, and I actually wrote “Compass” in January before coronavirus, quarantine, riots, and the election. It is actually crazy to think that we had no idea of what 2020 was going to look before we wrote this song. Sadie preached a message at Passion City Church that inspired our song. In her message, she talked about the fact that we do not need more vision, but we need more faith. From her message, we landed on the crux of our song, “Your word is my vision when I cannot see. Your voice is the compass that’s guiding me.” That line is so encouraging, but in reality, it is very hard to trust the voice of God when you feel like everything is falling apart. 

This year has felt like everything is falling apart. For that reason, 2020 has been a year we will truly never forget. Most of us began the year declaring that 2020 was going to be a year of vision. As each month of this year progressed, it seemed like we lost more and more of our vision because we could not see the future clearly anymore. Losing our vision led some of us to lose our hope. Everything we were looking forward to let us down. All of our excitement for our plans soon dwindled. All we hoped for failed us. The things we were hoping for proved to be uncertain. We quickly realized that our hope was in the wrong things. Merriam-Webster defines hope as, “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” At the beginning of the year, we fully believed that certain things were going to happen in 2020 that did not happen. 2020 showed us that we expected fulfillment in things that are not rock solid. It is so easy for us to put our hope in things that are inconsistent instead of putting our hope in things that are secure. 

Have you ever been there? Have you ever hoped for something so badly only to be sorely disappointed? I don’t know about you, but this year I realized that I put my hope in the wrong things. The cancellation of events and plans revealed what my hope was in. Three huge events in my life were postponed indefinitely, and I was so heartbroken. Proverbs 13:12 says it best: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Has your heart ever felt sick because what you were hoping for didn’t come to pass? I know that feeling all too well.

Thinking about our current predicament, I was reminded of the words of Paul. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” He reminded the Church in Corinth that their visible circumstances were fleeting and temporary. He wanted them to know that if they fixed their eyes on their present circumstances, they would lose heart. This is so true for us today. If we fix our eyes on our present situations, we will most likely be discouraged. We will be disheartened every single time we turn on the nightly news. We will be devastated when things do not go our way or do not go as planned. This is why we cannot fix our eyes on what we can see. What we see is not forever. What we see is ever-changing. We must fix our eyes on the eternal. We must fix our eyes on JESUS. Just because we cannot physically see our hope does not make it any less real. What we cannot see is going to last forever. This eternal hope in Christ that we have will NEVER be shaken. 

Life is constantly changing. We can expect things to continue to change, but our hope in Christ will never change. 

I love how the Passion Translation describes the unshakeable hope we have in Jesus. “And now we have run into his heart to hide ourselves in his faithfulness. This is where we find his strength and comfort, for he empowers us to seize what has already been established ahead of time—an unshakeable hope! We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat which sits in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold, and where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone in before us.” Hebrews 6:18-20

Circumstances will change – you can count on that! The good news is that Jesus will never change (Hebrews 13:8)! We have an unseen hope that is unchanging. Although this year has looked different, God is still on the throne, and our hope is still secure. Your circumstances, whether good or bad, should not define your hope. The results of your exams should not define your hope. Your health should not define your hope. Your wealth should not define your hope. Your relationship status should not define your hope. What people think of you should not define your hope. Your followers on social media should not define your hope. The outcome of the election should not define your hope. 

The cross of Jesus Christ should be the only reality that defines your hope. Christ made a way for you to have an unchanging hope through the cross, and wherever you are today, Jesus is offering you that hope. I want to encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus and let Him define your hope. He loves you so much. He will never let you down. His promises will never fail you. You can take his promises to the bank. No matter what you see today, let God’s Word be your vision. No matter what you hear today, let God’s voice be your compass. 

To learn even more about LO Worship, visit their website at loworship.com.