After being established as one of the industry's premier worship leaders with her Dove Award-winning, self-titled debut, Kari Jobe continues to serve as a worship pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, and released her highly anticipated follow-up album, GRAMMY nominated Where I Find You in early 2012.

 

"After singing about the importance of making time for intimate worship on my first album, I wanted to take the next step on Where I Find You," Kari shares. "These songs come from such an honest place of praising God for what He's done—and what He's continuing to do in our lives—because of His grace and goodness. 

 

"Ultimately, it's about declaring who He is and enjoying the simplicity of knowing the Lord is near," she continues. "He's for us, He loves us, and sometimes, we need to just stop, enjoy His presence and take that in."

 

While recording the album, Kari says she was often reminded of that very truth—a theme that resonates through the lyrics of "Here," a reminder to press pause, even when our culture insists we constantly keep moving. 

 

"There were many instances when we had to stop whatever we were working on because I needed to go outside, take a walk and have my own time with God for a few minutes," Kari remembers. "Again and again, I was so overtaken by how present He was while we were recording, and it's my hope and desire that people really feel the strength and intercession that was taking place while I worked on the album." 

 

Jobe released her Where I Find You: Christmas Edition on November 13, 2012. The Christmas edition release features two brand new songs "When Hope Came Down" and "Messiah." Jobe also included her favorite classic "O Holy Night." I had the great opportunity to interview Kari about her catchy original Christmas song "When Hope Came Down" and this is what she shared with me.

 

 

It was really fun to write a Christmas song, because I had never done that before. I co-wrote the song with Ben Glover, which was really cool. When we were starting to write the song, I was thinking of the Christmas song by Joy Williams called "Here With Us." I wanted a song that's real like that and paints a picture and you see Mary holding baby Jesus and it takes you to that night. 

 

So we started writing the song, and I wondered what it sounded like to hear the angels singing over Jesus and about the real presence of God that hovered over the earth that night. We connected it to modern day by joining ourselves to the chorus when we worship God. We join all of creation when we worship. It's a story of redemption as well. People getting saved by Jesus. The night when Hope came down.

 

Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

 

...and Matthew 1:23: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

  

 

Ben pulled some harder things out of me vocally, and he said that since I'm a vocalist, he really wanted me to sing it. He's a really gifted writer. I think all of us as believers think about the tendency to not want to get caught up in the commercial aspects of Christmas. I love the nostalgia, and the gifts, and I've even asked my family if we can skip shopping, and focus more on the time we spend together. We're actually minimizing our shopping this year. 

 

I love that about Christmas, getting to spend time with loved ones. It can be a hard season for some people. It highlights who is around and who isn't. You have good and bad memories. I think it just is a really sensitive time of year. If you know you have the Hope of Jesus, it makes it a lot better and more enjoyable. You can throw away the other things and celebrate the hope that you have in your heart from Jesus. I think that's so important for us to always cherish that hope.

 

 

As a songwriter, her heart is to connect people to the Lord. With a voice like an angel, Jobe continues to sing about Jesus, who offers peace, life, hope and healing. A collection of worship, pop and folk, her sophomore release, Where I Find You includes the uplifting "We Are," and hit single "Steady My Heart." 

 

"Whether I'm participating in an effort like this or leading worship, it's all about making a difference," Kari concludes. "That's the reason I'm doing what I'm doing at this specific moment—to see God's name lifted high, to encourage the hurt and the broken and to remind everyone to draw close to Him because He really, truly does care about each and every one of His children."

 

And that's ultimately the message behind Where I Find You, enjoying the beauty of God's presence, praising him with your whole heart and letting your light shine in a world that needs to experience the true grace and hope found only in Jesus.

 

This new Christmas song "When Hope Came Down" perfectly captures the picture of Jesus being the Hope of the world who came to save us from our sins. In Matthew's Gospel, he clearly understands "God with us" in Isaiah 7:14 to mean that Jesus is truly God as revealed in Matthew 1:23. But as God "with us," Jesus is also the fully human One who saves His people by the Cross. 

 

The Book of Matthew invites us to consider and worship the God who accepted the ultimate vulnerability, born as an infant to poor and humiliated parents into a world hostile to His presence. The broken and oppressed find in Him a Savior they can trust in a world where trust is generally dangerous. Of all the world's faiths, only Christianity announces a God who embraced our pain with us. 

 

As believers, we have all been blessed by Jesus coming to earth and humbling Himself to be born as a baby and die for our sins. We can all pray along with this gorgeous song directly to Him: "So let us sing Redemption Song, Let us worship Christ the Holy One, We were lost, but we were found, When Hope Came Down, When Hope Came Down." That's what Christmas is all about. God bless and Merry Christmas!

 

(Listen to the song here.)