In my previous posts, I discussed the songs from The Greatest Showman and how each song portrays a part of our relationship with the Lord. I’ve reordered the songs to tell a story about a man named James growing an intimate relationship with the Lord. Click the links below to read the previous posts:

A Million Dreams; Come Alive; The Other Side; Never Enough , Rewrite the Stars , This Is Me

 

In This Is Me, James has decided to embrace who he is—his bruises and all. Now, in Tightrope, James is trusting God with his life and he realizes this journey is certainly not easy, but he isn’t giving up hope this time.

Here are the lyrics:

Some people long for a life that is simple and planned / Tied with a ribbon / Some people won’t sail the sea ’cause they’re safer on land / To follow what’s written / But I’d follow you to the great unknown / Off to a world we call our own

• Explanation: A life with God is not simple and planned. Life, in general, is not simple and certainly doesn’t go as planned. Following God takes courage. It takes courage to believe it is good on the other side of the storm. When following God, James never knew where He would take him. When the song states, “Off to a world we call our own”, James’ journey with God is his own. No one else will have James’ story. It’s something that is intimate between him and God and something they share together.
• Some people try to take the safe route or stay in their comfort zone, but God wants to pull you out of your comfort zone so you may live to your full potential.

 

• Explanation: Although it fills like James will fall aka fail at whatever life throws at him, James and God are “hand in hand” and God “promise[s] to never let go.” James doesn’t know “how far [he] could fall” but he knows one thing: God will never let him go. And he is declaring to never let go of God–he will never stop putting his faith in God.
• A positive way to see life is to see it as an adventure. And during adventures, there are good times and bad times that come. These good and bad times can lead to beautiful, yet bittersweet moments that will shape you into a stronger person.

 

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between / Desert and ocean / You pulled me in and together we’re lost in a dream / Always in motion / So I risk it all just to be with you / And I risk it all for this life we choose

• Explanation: There are high and low times in life: “mountains and valleys.” But through the good and bad, God is there with James. So James decides to risk everything to trust in God’s plan for his life even though he doesn’t see the end results like God does. Remember in The Other Side, James didn’t want to risk his life for God? Well, in this stage of James’ life, he finally decides he will risk it all because it’s worth it.

 

Let’s put ourselves in James’ shoes: Pretend you and God are on the tightrope in front of an audience. You keep slipping, almost falling, but the Lord catches you every time. Even though you may injure yourself and it seems like ya’ll performance is over, it’s not because you and God are still on the tightrope; even with the pain of your injury.

You’re worried because of the pain and it feels like you can’t go on any longer. You look down and see the audience laughing at you and saying nasty things about you. Watching the others causes your footing to slip off the rope again. But then there’s a voice right in front of you, calling your name. And that voice is the voice of Jesus who is holding you. He is saying, “focus on me” in such a gentle and reassuring voice. “Don’t focus on your feet, don’t focus on the pain of your injuries, don’t focus on the crowd. Focus on me.” And before you know it, the both of you are complete with the tightrope performance and you made it to the end of the rope.

Each event in our life—whether on a big or small scale—is like a tightrope performance. You are not alone. You have a God holding you the whole time and He wants you—He wants all of us—to keep Him at our center so we may be able to conquer all that is thrown at us. He wants us to have peace throughout all our circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 3:16 states, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”

 

This song represents how going through life is like walking on a tightrope. You never know where life will pull you. You never know where God will take you. All you can do is continue to have faith in God and in his goodness, grace, and faithfulness, and watch the good and the bad times work in your favor as you learn through them.

Here’s a verse that sums up God’s love for us through the song, Tightrope:

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

—Psalm 37: 23-24 (NLT)

In the next song, From Now On, we will see James’ redemption!

What did you think of Tightrope’s explanation? Comment below!

xoxo,