The past few weeks have left me thoroughly shaken, questioning everything I believe and hope for, and wondering what I could possibly have left to look forward to in life. In other words, I’ve been a little unsteady…
Welcome back to The Gospel According To, where we connect the world’s best and brightest books, music, movies and more with Biblical truths that help us know God better. This week we have not one but two songs by the pop group X Ambassadors. The two songs work together to form a conversation between ourselves and God that teaches us to trust Him more. Enjoy!
Fandom: “Unsteady” and “Hold You Down” by X Ambassadors
Verses: Psalm 62: 5, 8, Psalm 71:1-3, Psalm 63:8, Isaiah 54:10, Romans 8:38-39, Romans 5:1
Nugget: Because His love never changes, God is a safe place for us to turn to when we feel a little unsteady.
As promised, this week’s fandom post focuses on two emotionally honest X Ambassadors songs that have helped me build my trust in the Lord, especially in times of hurt, sadness, and disappointment.
The Horizontal View: Emotional Uncertainty and Faithful Friendship
Let’s start with the horizontal, or human-centered, interpretation of these two songs. Here’s a snippet of each song’s chorus:
Hold on, hold on, hold on to me,
‘Cause I’m a little unsteady, a little unsteady…
If you love me, don’t let go.
“Unsteady, x ambassadors
We’ll be the last ones dancing when the lights go out
when there’s no one to hold you, I will still hold you down…
If you go to war, I go to war for you.
“hold you down,” x ambassadors
“Unsteady” shows the emotional vulnerability of someone asking their loved ones for support in the midst of a difficult season. The singer talks about their mother and father struggling with their own issues, but asks them to hold on in spite of it — the uncertainty of whether they will or not is clear in the tone of the song. The singer then asks their loved ones to show that they love him — “If you love me, don’t let go.”
“Hold You Down, on the other hand, shows the singer offering support to someone in their life who needs it. They promise to be there for the audience of the song even when no one is around – “when no one holds you, I will still hold you down.” And they don’t ask for anything in return, showing that they truly love the person they’re singing to.
Both of these X Ambassadors songs are an authentic slice of life as humans: asking for support when we need it, and offering support to those we love. They are beautiful, sweet examples of love from both sides. But what happens when we take this human-centered interpretation and turn it on its head?
The Vertical View: Sure Salvation and Faithful Love
Want more musical reminders of God’s character and nature? Check out these posts!
As I said in the beginning, these two songs placed side by side form a conversation that I have with God almost every time something is difficult or overwhelming in my life. “Unsteady” becomes a prayer that echoes this verse from Psalm 62: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him… Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62: 5, 8 ESV Because I have seen the sure salvation of God before, I know it’s safe to ask Him to save me again. And He wants to hear every drop of uncertainty and overwhelm and sadness and shame and guilt that we have in our hearts — it’s okay to pour it out before Him. He is a safe place, a safe person to talk to, and He is always listening. Trust in him at all times, people. Pour your heart out before him. He is a refuge for us.
In answer to this prayer, “Hold You Down” sounds like the voice of God assuring me that He will always be there for me: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:8 ESV This is my declaration over and over again: that God will always uphold me. I will be shaken, refined and pruned, but I will not be overthrown.
God’s Faithful Love, Then and Now
Let’s have a tiny mini Bible lesson real quick. Think about the Old Testament with me: When was it written? Who wrote it and who was it written for? Why was it written? To the best of my understanding, the Old Testament was written by Jewish people, to Jewish people who lived thousands of years ago. The book of Isaiah, for example, was written to the people of Israel prophesying to them what would happen at a later point in their history. It was intended to comfort them in the midst of their exile in Babylon, reminding them of their identity as the people of God and promising that God would eventually bring them back to the land of Israel.
Does that mean that we as 21st century readers can’t get anything from the book of Isaiah? Of course not! Because God’s character never changes, we can learn who He is by reading what He said to His people Israel thousands of years ago. And what’s more, we can find New Testament verses that show how we as believers receive the new covenant of God in a similar way to the promises He gave to Israel in the Old Testament.
Here’s a specific verse that will show what I mean by this:
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 ESV
Three things we can glean from this verse:
- God’s character in the Old Testament: This verse uses exaggerated imagery to show that God’s steadfast love that will never fail and His covenant that can never be broken, even if the highest mountains crumble and the hills are destroyed.
- “My steadfast love shall not depart” – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels not rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ESV Through the blood of Christ, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s steadfast love. His love shall not depart from us.
- “My covenant of peace shall not be removed” – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 ESV Because Jesus lived on earth as the only human who could fulfill the covenant law God gave to Israel to the letter, we are able to have peace with God through Him. His covenant of peace shall not be removed from us.
Conclusion: God is a safe place that we can always turn to when we feel uncertain, overwhelmed or afraid. He is a safe person who will listen to everything we give to Him because He’s big enough to handle it. And through Jesus, God’s steadfast love and covenant of peace with us can never, ever be taken away from us. He will always hold us down.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post about X Ambassadors and the sure salvation of the Lord. If you did, please let me know down below, and pass these verses along to someone you know.
Happy fangirling!
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