(James) I wrote a version of this song 4 years ago, when I was a student at Iowa State. I was planning on moving to Iowa City in a few months to help start the Veritas Church plant, and was inspired by Isaiah 43:1-12.

"But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
9 All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God."

This passage helped me understand God's love and purpose for my life. It helped me believe that God would use me as a part and Veritas Church not because we were anything special or had any spectacular gifts to offer, but just because He had called us.

I especially love the idea of God calling us by HIS name. I think of how a child adopted into a family is given the same last name, signifying a true sense of belonging and identity. And, like a good father to his children, we as believers can know that we are safe within God's hands and precious within His sight.

I thought about giving up on this song several times over the years, as it never seemed to come together in a worship band setting, but was always reminded of the powerful effect it had on a friend who I played an original version of it for back in college, moving them to tears as they took in God's promise of their new identity in Him. Their encouragement always reminded me of the song's powerful message, and helped me never give up on it. If you know an artist, and are moved by what they create, go out of your way to encourage them and let them know it.

This is obviously a different style from the rest of the album, but we felt it was appropriate to end on a positive note, letting God lead us out of the identity given to us in Christ. Compared to most other songs on the album, very little work was put into recording this, giving it a more raw and natural feel; the piano/organ part was actually recorded as a scratch track as a guide for the drum recordings, and we left it unaltered. The guitar part was also recorded in just a couple takes, as was the bass part. It's a fun song to play live, and even more fun to see how God has used it to impact people and remind them of how they are so "precious in His sight."