The Beauty of Being 'Known'

Tauren Wells - "Known" - Single (2017) / Amazon

In the car the other day, I heard Tauren Wells’ “Known" from his 2017 release, Hills and Valleys, for the first time (You’ll have to excuse me. I’ve apparently been living under a rock. SO good!). His mellow tone coupled with the classic simplicity of guitar hooked me, and by the end of the song, I was singing along:

It’s not one or the other

It’s hard truth and ridiculous grace

To be known, fully known

And loved by You

I let those lyrics marinate for a bit, and I haven’t stopped thinking about them for a few days now. What a gift it is to be known.

The lyrics above depict what a true relationship with God feels like. A real relationship full of “hard truth and ridiculous grace” goes beyond religion, beyond the four walls of the church. It peers into the inside of you and reveals every part of you to yourself—the good, the bad and the ugly. It allows you to clearly see the areas in your life that need fixing...and it gives you grace for the renovation process.

It's so unusual it's frightening

You see right through the mess inside me

And you call me out to pull me in

You tell me I can start again

And I don't need to keep on hiding

God is not a God of “one or the other.” He won’t just highlight what’s wrong in you and not give you grace to fix it. He calls us out on our mess, not to punish us, but to bring us closer to Him. We don’t have to be ashamed of our past, all we have to do is be willing to come out of hiding and He’ll help us start fresh. There’s no use hiding from Him anyway. He’s omnipotent and ever-present. He knows us better than we’ll ever know ourselves.

It's so like You to keep pursuing

It's so like me to go astray

But You guard my heart with Your truth

The kind of love that's bullet proof

And I surrender to Your kindness

God pursues us even when we pursue the wrong things. Although every action has consequences, He guards our hearts and keeps them from being shattered...and even when we feel like they’re broken, His love mends them.

The last line in this verse resonated with me so much, “And I surrender to Your kindness.” That may seem like a small thing to most people, but it’s huge in building and maintaining a solid relationship with God. One of the biggest perks of being known is knowing He’s got you! Surrender it all. Let Him be kind to you, and lean on Him as He takes you through. He loves you and He always sets you up to win!

How real, how wide

How rich, how high is Your heart

I cannot find the reasons why

You give me so much

God's grace is ridiculous. It’s unfathomable. You’ll never be able to wrap your head around it. You may be confused about what He’s doing, but just know that He’s doing it for your good! Let Him be God. You’ll never know why He’s so good to you, and you’ll never be able to repay Him. All that’s required of you is to live a life that is pleasing to Him, a life worthy of “Well done.” That’s the beauty of being known.