In this post, I will break down the lyrics of Spoken’s new song “In the Dark” and discuss how it talks about surrendering our burdens to God.
Christian rock band Spoken released their first album back in 1997. They just released their newest album Reflection this past February, which was their first album in seven years. Reflection is also Spoken’s first album with their new label, XOVR Records, formed by Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch.
Photo of current members of Spoken retrieved from their website.
Spoken says on their website that Reflection has a lot for fans to enjoy: “This record consists of melody, aggression, thought provoking lyrical content, guitar riffs and drums that compliment each and every aspect of songwriting.” One song with such provoking lyrical content is “In the Dark,” which uses the metaphor of darkness to talk about pain and surrendering our hurts to God.
Here’s the official music video for the song, so give it a listen if you haven’t already.
Now let's dive into the lyrics!
I see your face in the crowd
I see your tears
You've lived your life
Looking through a window
You think to yourself does anyone else
Ever feel the way that I do
You tell yourself that nobody else
Could ever, ever understand you
Another face in the crowd
You're wasting away in your doubt
Thinking that you could never change
Say it say it say it
Say it out loud!
The song starts out by describing feelings of loneliness that many of us have experienced. This verse is a message for those of us who feel closed off from the world and like no one truly knows or understands us. However, as later shown in the song, we know that isn’t the reality. Psalms 139:1 says, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.” God is the One who truly knows us and sees us because He is the One who made us. He sees us when we are hurting, and because Jesus is human, He knows what we are feeling because He has experienced pain too.
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than pain in your heart
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than life in the dark
Surrender is an important part of this song. The repeated question of “Do you believe surrender changes everything” emphasizes that when we give our pain, fears, and doubts over to Jesus, we are changed. When we surrender our burdens to Jesus, He changes our hurts to healings and our stress to rest. Jesus invites us to come to Him in Matthew 11:28, when He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Everywhere you turn
Reminds you of what you fear
The weight of all the world
Is on your shoulders here
Say it
Out loud
Say it say it say it
Say it out loud!
We were never meant to carry the weight of our pain and suffering on our own. Even when it feels like “the weight of all the world / is on your shoulders,” God wants to help us with our burdens. Just like how 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you,” we can take our fears and worries to God and tell Him what we are going through (“Say it out loud”) since we know that He loves us and wants to help us.
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than pain in your heart
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than life in the dark
There's more than pain in your heart
There's more than life in the dark
Do you believe
Surrender changes everything
The title “In the Dark” refers to us no longer having to stay in darkness. There is life outside of the darkness of our pain and fear. And that life is found in the light: Jesus. In John 8:12, Jesus said,“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” By believing in and surrendering our lives to Jesus, we move from death to life, from darkness to light.
Ephesians 5:8 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Once we surrender to Him, we live a life that is now defined by the light. Surrender does change everything because we now live with God working in us, shining His light through us and changing our perspective of the world around us.
Reflection album cover.
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than pain in your heart
Do you believe surrender changes everything
There's more than life in the dark
“In the Dark” is a call to surrender and to move away from the isolating darkness and into the light of freedom. It sounds strange to say that surrender brings freedom, but by surrendering our pain and our lives to Jesus, we gain freedom from sin. We no longer have to fear what will happen because we know that God is in control. We don’t have to worry about being alone because we know that God is always with us. And we don’t have to be ashamed of our sin because we know that Jesus has taken our shame from us.
That doesn’t mean we won’t still experience pain, though. Even Jesus felt pain. But when we do feel hurt, we know who we can turn to. Psalms 34:16 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is close, even when you’re hurting, ready to take your burdens and hold you in His arms. He knows the pain you’re feeling, and He knows that you don’t have to hold onto it.
Surrender changes everything.
Spoken. (2024). About. Spoken Store. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://spokenmusic.com/pages/about
Spoken - In the Dark Lyrics. (2024, February). AZLyrics. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/spoken/inthedark.html
Yeung, N. (n.d.). Spoken biography. AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spoken-mn0000156434#biography