A song for the broken hearted

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, September 16th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

On Friday we heard Pastor Kevin DeYoung encourage parents and mentors not to feel pressured to say everything about Christian conservative Charlie Kirk’s death all at once. That’s our approach here, too.

REICHARD: Since Wednesday’s assassination, prayer vigils and memorial services have sprung up worldwide, some planned, some spontaneous. Our reporters will cover several of those later this week. But now, we turn to a moment of reflection.

MAST: Singer-songwriter Matthew West has written a new song in response to Charlie Kirk’s death. WORLD’s Myrna Brown spoke with West earlier and brings us part of that conversation:

MYRNA BROWN: Good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW WEST: Hey, good morning. It's great to be with you as always.

BROWN: Thank you for being here. Many of us, Matthew, are still coming to terms with Charlie Kirk's assassination. Everyone, as you know, processes grief and pain in different ways. You chose to write a song. Would you tell me about how that helps you?

WEST: Yeah, absolutely. I woke up early in the morning the day after we had found out about what happened to Charlie Kirk. And I literally woke up in the morning with the verse of Psalm 34:18 in my mind and I had a melody right off the bat. I was like, Jesus be close to the broken heart and save those who are crushed in spirit. And I just started singing that to myself and just singing God's promise over myself. And I just sat down and I thought, okay, you know, this is just how I process because you know what my other option is, if I'm being honest, it's to be angry, it’s to go down rabbit holes and to be obsessed by the news and just to watch the news 24/7. And I think it's great to be educated and aware of what's going on, but that can be all consuming. And so I found solace in God’s word. And I was also comforted by the thought that like in my confusion, in my anger, in the feelings that I was feeling as I was watching the news and then having to, you know, try to shield my daughters from what they might see on social media, it was God’s word that came back to me and I didn't open my Bible and read it, it was God's word that I had hidden in my heart that returned to my heart and to my memory in a moment when I needed to be reminded exactly where God is when guess what, a lot of us were asking that very question, God where are you in times like this? Well he tells us, he's close, he is close.

BROWN: What a testament to Bible memorization, you know, hiding the word in your heart so you can call it up when you need it. You mentioned the lyric is based on Psalm 34:18. As you said, “the Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Why should we meditate on that scripture right now?

WEST: Well, quite frankly, I think we have to push away the lies of the enemy, you know, who gets the final say? You know, like we're I think there's a lot of times we start to get discouraged and say, Lord, I know, I know that we have victory in Jesus. We sang that hymn the other night at a vigil in Tennessee last night, actually, “victory in Jesus, my savior forever.” But we were singing it from broken hearts and really trying to believe that we do have victory. Because some days it looks like the devil's winning. And so it's so important to make sure that our house is built on a solid foundation of the truth of God's Word so that when the storms come, our faith will be able to stand strong and secure. And I'll tell you what, I'm as guilty as anybody of going to every other resource in times like this, you know, I'll be obsessed with social media and what every news network’s saying and what he said and she said and they said, and my parents always taught me to come back to God’s word and now I'm trying to teach my kids the same thing. Let's return, let's go back. And I love seeing all these people picking up their Bibles for the first time in a long time, or for the first time ever, and finding their way back to church and realizing that God really is close to us in times like these.

BROWN: Yes, he is our ever present help and times of trouble. Yeah, let's listen to just a bit of the song that you wrote. Let's listen right now.

MUSIC: [“BE CLOSE”] I can’t unsee what I’ve just seen.
I can’t make sense of one more senseless tragedy.
Another life, put out by dark.
This wicked world makes me wonder where you are.
Jesus be close, to the broken hearted,
Save those, who are crushed in spirit,
We know that you’ve always been our only hope.
Be near, when our minds are flooded with fear,
Be the hand that’s wiping our tears,
And the voice that whispers: “Weary soul be still and know I’ll always be close…”

BROWN: So Matthew, you have written so many songs and you shared earlier how you woke up with that verse on your heart, and even a melody. And I want to know what's been the response so far?

WEST: I mean, it's been unbelievable just like the people just saying they needed that reminder that, you know, that Jesus is close and the song closes with, I mean, the second verse talks, it's really a challenge to me. It says, there is hate, let there be peace. And when I don't see a change, let change begin with me. Where there is evil, be not dismayed. And give me the strength to stare that evil in the face. And so hopefully it turns into a prayer.

I even hesitated to get on and do this interview with you when they asked me and it wasn't because I don't love talking to you but it's honestly because I struggle with like, I'm struggling to like formulate responses to what's going on right now. Maybe that's why it was easier to put my heart in a song than it is to do an interview just going like, I don't know what to think right now. You know what I mean? And I struggle with that but, and then when you read the comments and there's positive comments and there's negative comments and there's people who will unfollow you because you honored the life of somebody whose life was taken. So I guess if I could sum anything up, it's like, I just feel a stirring and it’s that stirring that made me go to my guitar and write this song. And now I feel like that stirring is turning into a stirring to be bold and to be a light where there's dark and try to meet people who are coming at us with hatred, try to meet them with love, but also with truth.

BROWN: Yes and amen. Yes, me too. Matthew West, your songs bring just healing and encouragement. So thank you for that. Matthew West is a singer songwriter and recording artist with Provident Label Group and Sony Music. Thank you so much for being with us today, Matthew.

WEST: Well, thanks for what you do. Thanks for being a bright light and encouraging all who are listening. And to everybody who's listening right now, maybe you resonate with how I'm wrestling and questioning and all the things and just know like, man, there is one place you can go, a safe place you can go with every question, with every tear, with every broken heart. And you can come to Jesus, you run into his arms. And he says, come unto me all who are weary and I will give you rest. And I just am so thankful for the promise that we can turn to a savior no matter what our world is facing. And I'm praying that our nation will turn to Jesus like never before. And I believe we're seeing it happen.

MUSIC: [“BE CLOSE”] Jesus be close, to the broken hearted,
Save those, who are crushed in spirit,
We know that you’ve always been our only hope.
Be near, when our minds are flooded with fear,
Be the hand that’s wiping our tears,
And the voice that whispers: “Weary soul be still and know I’ll always be close…”

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.