Coming off the success of The Art of Celebration, with "Immeasurably More" and "My Lighthouse" and As Family We Go, with "You Will Never Run" and "Every Giant Will Fall," Rend Collective has returned with Good News, featuring the lead single, "Rescuer (Good News)." It was one of my top 10 worship albums of 2018. They named their band based on the Scripture, "Rend your hearts, not your garments."
 
Good News is one of the most meaningful and uplifting albums I've ever heard. In this era of bad news, it is so refreshing to hear a celebration of God's Word: of the truth that Jesus gave His life to redeem all that was lost. This album includes a solid mix of folk-style indie tinged worship. The musical and lyrical excitement of Rend Collective's engaging live performance is perfectly captured in these recordings. Don’t miss your chance to see this exciting band at Winter Jam this year. I had the chance to speak with Rend Collective’s lead singer Chris Llewellyn and drummer Gareth Gilkeson recently in Reading, Pennsylvania about "Counting Every Blessing."

 
Please tell me the personal story behind the song.

Gareth: Whenever we go through life, we get in the habit of comparison. We look at what other people have and compare ourselves to our expectations of where we think we should be. One of the things in writing this song was the realization that "comparison is the thief of joy." It is something that steals your joy, and steals your vibrancy. And, your relationship with God suffers because you are spending time looking at something you are not rather than at who He is and what He has done in our lives. We were looking at Scriptures where Paul says, "give thanks." I used to think it was because God cares how well-mannered we are. That’s a human fabrication in a lot of ways. It’s not about being polite, but it is about gratitude. When we count our blessings, there’s so many we don’t know where to start. That’s where this song came from.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Psalm 136:26 (NIV): "Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever."

Psalm 13:5-6 (MSG): "I've thrown myself headlong into Your arms—I'm celebrating Your rescue. I'm singing at the top of my lungs; I'm so full of answered prayers."

Philippians 1:3 (VOICE): "Whenever you cross my mind, I thank my God for you and for the gift of knowing you."

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV): "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
 
Romans 5:8 (VOICE): "But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us."
 
Romans 8:28 (VOICE): "We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan."

Romans 12:2 (VOICE): "Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete."
 
2 Corinthians 9:8 (VOICE): "God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you'll always be taken care of in every way and you'll have more than enough to share."

James 1:2-4 (NIV): "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

What is the takeaway message?

Gareth: In all things we do, there’s a pursuit for joy. It’s hard for that to not permeate our songs. Whether there’s cynicism or difficulty, we try to find our way back to joy.
 
Chris: We actually have five songs with the word joy in the title. It is a theme in scripture that we are really forgetful when it comes to being thankful and counting our blessings. That’s why it says in the Psalms to forget not all His benefits. We want to be able to go back and say "yes, we are blessed" even in circumstances when we don’t feel blessed. Once we were blind and lost, and now we have a hope and a future. Going back to the Gospel as a baseline for blessing, at a foundational level, we are miraculously and supernaturally blessed. That’s not a matter of our wavering situations. We are eternally and, once and for all, blessed by the work of Jesus on the Cross.
 
Lyrics:
I was blind, now I'm seeing in colour
I was dead, now I'm living forever
I had failed, but You were my Redeemer
I've been blessed beyond all measure

I was lost, now I'm found by the Father
I've been changed from a ruin to treasure
I've been given a hope and a future
I've been blessed beyond all measure

I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Letting go and trusting when I cannot see
I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Surely every season You are good to me

Oh, oh (You are good to me)
Oh, oh (You are good to me)

You were there in the valley of shadows
You were there in the depth of my sorrows
You're my strength, my hope for tomorrow
I've been blessed beyond all measure

I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Letting go and trusting when I cannot see
I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Surely every season You are good to me

Oh, oh (You are good to me)
Oh, oh (You are good to me)

Surely Your goodness pursues me
Surely Your heart is still for me
I will remember Your mercies all my days
Through every storm and gale

I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Letting go and trusting when I cannot see
I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Surely every season You are good to me

I am counting every blessing
Counting every blessing
Letting go and trusting when I cannot see
I am counting every blessing
I'm counting every blessing
Surely every season You are good to me

Oh, oh (You are good to me)
Oh, oh (You are good to me)
Oh, oh (You are good to me)
Oh, oh (You are good to me)

For Your goodness
I will ever praise You
Oh, oh You are good to me
Oh, oh You are good to me
Sing it out now
Oh, oh You are good to me
In the hurting
Oh, oh You are good to me
I'll sing it loud
Oh, oh You are good to me
Even in the dark
Oh, oh You are good to me
Lift your voices
Oh, oh You are good to me
All the time
Oh, oh You are good to me

Closing Thoughts

"Counting Every Blessing"  is a song that we can all sing to God to thank Him for His blessings. In a lot of ways, the song has a psalmist's vulnerability, like David saying, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him." Psalm 34:8 (NKJV). One of the main themes of this song fits right in with the passage from James 1:2-4: taking what God has given you and offering it back to God as a sacrifice of praise, knowing that God "works all things together for good." 
 
We have nothing to bring. We may not understand God's will, but we know we can trust Him. When we are on our knees before Him, raising our empty hands, we are closest to God. That's a gift that God wants all of His children to have. That's worthy of all our praise. Rend Collective has written another great anthem for the Church that reminds us that under our own strength, many obstacles we face will seem impossible. But, with God, all things are possible. 

This song is a great way to thank Jesus for our undeserved gift of grace. Grace is freely given and isn't something we can earn by our good works. It is a gift from God by faith in Christ Jesus.
 
It's so easy to compare ourselves to others and feel like God is blessing someone else with something that we want. We all need to learn that God has us exactly where we're supposed to be in this moment, even when we don't feel good enough. I find myself praying and singing along with this amazing song as it expresses deep desires that many people have. As Christians, we all can loudly proclaim: "I am counting every blessing/Counting every blessing/Letting go and trusting when I cannot see." Amen to that.