Matthew West is sharing the surprise he felt when, after a long career in music, God told him to go “all in” for Jesus. He hopes his latest album has inspired other Christians to do the same.
West released the album “All In” last year and says the journey surrounding it has been different than the past.
“I felt like this was my 8th album I’ve ever made and I thought, ‘Just now God’s calling me to go all in?’ ” West said. “I sort of had a conversation with the Lord like, ‘Isn’t that what I’ve been doing?'”
West said he started taking inventory of his life to see where God was asking him to “go deeper.” He said every song on his album is an answer to the question: “God, what are the areas of my life where I’m playing it safe?”
West says, “I feel like it was a real process of me realizing that God was telling me, ‘I have more for you. I have deeper depths I want to take you in your relationship in me. I want to show you the areas of your life where you could be going deeper, where you could be going farther, where you could be living in more devotion to me.'”
He continued, “It was kind of humbling, but then also exhilarating to realize that I’m just getting started. And really God’s saying, ‘No, I’m just getting started. Watch and be amazed at how I’m going to use you. But it’s time for you to trust me in the areas of your life where you’ve played it safe…no more, it’s time to go all in like ever before.'”
West said a lot of the songs on the album reflect his relationship with his wife and two daughters, an area he says God was calling him to grow.
“When I thought of what it might look like to go all in for Jesus, my first instinct was to think about the big stuff,” West said. “How many people can I sing in front of? How many interviews can I get? The high profile things. But I felt like God kept redirecting my attention to inside the four walls of my own home.”
West went on to say he began to ask himself and God what it would mean to go “all in” as a dad and as a husband.
One song in particular on the album titled, “The Beautiful Things We Miss,” is about his wife and two daughters.
“It talks about my desire to say, ‘Lord, help me not miss what’s right in front of me,'” West said. “The song says, ‘because pretty soon, the beautiful things we love, will become the beautiful things we miss.'”
He continued, “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and say I had a good career in music but my kids didn’t have a good relationship with their father. What would I have to show for it?”
West says the song “All In,” which the album was named after, was meant to be an anthem for his upcoming year.
“I like finding songs that become my personal theme song for the year. That’s what I wanted for ‘All In.’ No more regret, no more living in fear, I’m going all in,” West said.
West encourages other Christians to take that next step in their relationship with God as well.
“When you go all in for the God who’s gone all in for you, you know who you are in Him, and you know that the best of your life is still yet to come,” West said.
–CBNews