In addition to acclaimed musician Audrey Assad's work as a singer and a songwriter, she is also an author, speaker, producer, and the daughter of a Syrian refugee. Assad released her second independent album, Inheritance, on February 12. This collection of hymns and original songs pays homage to both her childhood heritage and to her Catholic faith and charismatic spirituality. 

From my first listen, I was totally captivated by this worship album by Audrey Assad. I'm really engaged by Audrey's emotional vocals and the deep, prayerful lyrics throughout the album. For me, Audrey brings sincerity and relatable themes that get deeper with each listen, just like her reverent songs "For Love of You," "Restless" and "Sparrow," which have all been featured as behind the song devotionals. I had the chance to speak with Audrey about her original song"Even unto Death."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

I write a lot of songs, and my typical style and songwriting method is pretty emotionless, or maybe businesslike, but not in a bad way. I put my heart into it, but I don't typically have moments where the song totally wrecks me in the moment of writing them. This song is an exception to that. I have a few songs that have been songs from my gut, with all of my emotions involved, and this is one of them. I was at Matt Maher's backyard studio writing alone one day, and I came across one of the ISIS videos of beheading Christians in February 2015. 

There were captions in English, because they meant it for American audiences, and I got a glimpse of the martyred men. I am a Syrian-American, and my father was a refugee from Syria in the 1970's. The Arab crisis of our day is really close to my heart, and adding into that the Christian unity piece, that these men were martyred as a message to what ISIS refers to as the "nation of the Cross" (which I think is a huge compliment to America, and it is humbling because I don't think we live up to that most of the time). 

I thought of the many martyrs around the world, but especially those in the Middle East, and wondered to myself what would be running through my head if I knew my life was about to be taken because of my faith. And so I began to write the song that became "Even Unto Death," praying for the martyrs and hoping for even a shred of their courage. 
    
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Philippians 2:8 (NIV): "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a Cross!"

The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV): "Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and He began to teach them saying: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'" 

John 14:5-7 (NIV): Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him."

What is the takeaway message?

This is something I want to sing about on Sundays: "Lover of my soul even unto death, with my every breath I will love You." I felt a deep grief, not only for the men who were killed, but also for the killers. They were all bearers of the image of God, and I thought about how deeply tragic it was. I was weeping and weeping. All I could think was that I wanted to write a prayer that I could say if it was me on the beach about to be martyred. I saw the men praying before they were martyred. It really spoke to me, and I felt they were displaying the meekness that Jesus calls us to have and how He died on the Cross.

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus humbled Himself, even unto death on a Cross. That was man's idea to kill Jesus that way, but God responded and said, yes, He would do that for us. I just think the martyrs display that same Spirit, and we are supposed to live that same way with our arms outstretched to the world. I wanted to grow and receive what my faith is lacking in that area. I called Matt out and told him I loved the song and it spoke to me, but I wondered if he had any ideas to help me finish it. He sings in the background with me in the song. I'm so grateful that I can sing a song like this one, and even if it never reaches commercial success, this is what my heart has to say.

I think one of the themes found in many of the songs on this album is meekness, or lack of power. A lot of times meekness is forced because people are oppressed and they have no choice. When I think about Jesus saying "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth," He praises meekness. When I look at what Jesus did, the crucifixion is the most degrading, insulting, humiliating death you can think of, and He did not resist. He opened His hands and did that for us because He loves us that much. He showed us that we mean everything to Him. 

I think we in America as Christians have national security as individual priorities, which is antithetical to the Gospel. Not that we should invite danger, but we as Christians need to live a countercultural witness. Jesus didn't involve Himself in militaristic issues, or the physical deliverance of His people. He did something bigger and more radical. He liberated our hearts, and He was meek. He accepted the degrading of the culture and took it and loved us. I find when Jesus said "narrow is the way and few find it," He's talking about believers. Even within the fold, few will take up their Cross and follow Him. That is what I'm asking the Lord for, and I want this song to reflect that.

Lyrics:
Jesus
The very thought of You
It fills my heart with love
Jesus
You burn like wildfire
And I am overcome

Lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You
Lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You

Jesus
You are my only hope
And You, my prize shall be
Jesus
You are my glory now
And in eternity

Lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You
Yeah, Lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You

In my darkest hour
In humiliation
I will wait for You
I am not forsaken
Oh, I lose my life
Oh, my breath be taken
I will wait for You
I am not forsaken
One thing I desire
To see You in Your beauty

You are my delight
Yeah, You are my only
You have sacrificed
Oh, Your love is all consuming
You are my delight
Yeah, You are my glory
Oh, You are my glory
Oh, You are my glory
Yeah

You're the lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You
You're the lover of my soul
Even unto death
With my every breath I will love You

I will love You
Even unto death, I will love You
With my every breath I will love You
Jesus
The very thought of You
Jesus
The very thought of You 

These excellent songs on Inheritance are all prayers and personal confessions of submission to God. These are great songs to pray along with Audrey and express your own yearnings for holiness and God's presence. There are no filler tracks, and this is easily one of my top "gourmet" albums of the year. If you want to experience an uplifting, soul-stirring, stunning and worshipful album, look no further. This is sure to be one of the top worship albums of the year. I'm sure it will continue to challenge, inspire and move me. 

I am very moved by "Even Unto Death," which features Matt Maher. Audrey's tender, emotive and powerful vocals take listeners on an emotional journey that gives me goose bumps every time I hear this song, filled with truth. The song is a tribute to Christian martyrdom. 

Jesus really loves us just as we are, not who we pretend to be. Not only does Jesus love our weaknesses, He blesses us because of them. Being poor in spirit, meek, persecuted and insulted brings blessings from God, which is all we need. It's a shame that most times we are deathly afraid of becoming the kind of person Jesus described as eligible for this blessing. "Narrow is the gate" of salvation, because there is only One Way, One Truth and One Life, and that's found in our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the Light of the world, and He is everywhere through the Holy Spirit who lives inside each of us when we've received Him as the Lord of our lives. 

The lyrics are very stirring: "Lover of my soul, even unto death, with my every breath, I will love You." The song is poignant and powerful with earnest, worshipful lyrics and reflects the boldness for Jesus to that I pray for my daughters to feel in their hearts as well. Join in with Audrey and proclaim "Though I lose my life, though my breath be taken, I will wait for You... You are my glory!" Amen to that!

Listen to the song below.