I dare you to move.

"Dare You To Move" ~Switchfoot

I think its safe to say that all of us have heard this song like a kabajillion times (well, okay, at least I listened to it that many times xD). This is one of those songs that you can kind of listen to SO often that you can sing the words, and have fun singing it, but have no real thought about what it really means. But it's really cool when you go back to a song and you get some kind of new (or old, but reminded) insight about it :]. And (ta-da!) this happened for me and this song XD.

What really struck me recently was actually from the second verse, when the song goes, "...welcome to Resistance..". I started thinking as if we're trying to get somewhere, but there's resistance; a force pushing you back. This image really solidifies me as if I'm trying to go in one direction, but I feel a physical shove to my chest (kinda like a bully-push). It's then when the brain actually has to make a decision: (1) to back off because there's now something trying to stop you from moving in your desired direction, or (2) to move; forward, struggling forward. From this standpoint, the motivation of "i dare you to move" really means so much more now.

What does this mean for me? I think of so often the ways that I want to move in a certain direction, but refuse to for various reasons. One instance is in trying to talk to my friends about God and being open about Jesus: I have the desire to, but I feel the shove in my chest of "what if they don't listen?" or "is it even worth it?". Resistance.

As I was walking from class and thinking about this song (yes, even more x]), I noticed something kinda cool about the structure of the song. The entire song goes through a complete progression. The first verse is the first stage: Existence. Welcome! Now that you're here, what are you gonna do? Everyone's watching. "I dare you to move." Alright! Second stage: Resistance. Welcome... now that you've been pushed; now that you know its not just a straight path with no obstacles, what are you gonna do? The tension is here.. maybe you feel like you've fallen.. and there's no way you can move on, because of either yourself or something else.. but the third stage: Redemption. Forgiveness. Salvation. Beauty for Ashes! In your weakness, in the midst of Resistance and falling, God redeems you. What a weight lifted! But now what..? What are you gonna do now? Stand there? Stay where you are? "I dare you to move."

By now, you've probably seen the video & heard the song =]. This version is actually a new video made by Switchfoot, & came out just recently. I found it as I was looking for a good vid to post here x] and I really love it. I think the imagery in here is really awesome, especially with the emergence of the wave of people moving against him; the Resistance. But he pushes his way through, and eventually, made it all the way through the mob of people. There's kind of a sense of liberation as he exits the fog and the mob, because it's over & he's made it through. I just thought it was really awesome. The original music video is actually really good as well, if you wanna watch it, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTcr9wKC-o&a=0l0T6_mJ2JA&playnext_from=ML

(wow this feels long, haha.) Yeahs, I dunno, this song is really cool for me :]. Thank God for cool music =D! I'm really hoping this song will remind me that 1st of all, life wasn't meant to have no obstacles; its ridiculous to think that there will be no resistance. But He dares me to move, not to let the doubt, fear, (etc) hold me back. And also to remember the beautiful stage of Redemption! Great stories to tell, when we're picked up off the floor, and move =].

Thanks for reading this far! Hope you were blessed!