I am so excited to share this brand new song, “Back to the Garden”. God birthed this song in my heart over two years ago, in the spring of 2021 while I was in the middle of creating the Great Awakening album.
The church has lost its way. We need revival. We are in a time where God is purifying His Bride. He is awakening His people. He is calling us to return to the Garden, to the purity and simplicity of holy union with our Creator, where all we want and need is Him. We were never made for the “show” of what church has become – it was never meant to be any of those things. We were made for intimacy with our Creator, to be in relationship with our God, and out of the overflow of that relationship, the Church IS. We are the church. The church is not a building, it is not a program, it is not a movement. The Church IS the people of God experiencing rich relationship with Him, and out of the overflow of that relationship, we love each other the way Christ has loved us.
After almost twenty years in “professional ministry”, my heart is weary of the rat race. I’m weary of the machine of ministry. I long to go “back to the Garden”, to live, move, breathe, parent, work and exist from a place of REST with Jesus. Pure. Simple. Holy. Why would I desire anything less? Jesus, be my treasure. Be my only treasure. Jesus is the prize.
I love this song because when I listen to it, it makes me exhale. It reminds me I was never meant to carry any of these burdens. I pray this song draws you in to the peace of who Jesus is, the rest that He offers. I pray this song truly leads you … back to the garden.
Download/Stream here: Back To The Garden
Official Music Video:
Song Lyrics:
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Words & Music by Shelly E. Johnson & Sean Hill
© July 2023
Verse 1
It was never meant to be
Flashing lights and smoke and screens
Where we trade Your presence for a show
It was always meant to be
A holy sanctuary
The secret place where we could go
Chorus
Take me back to the Garden
Where all I want is You
Make my heart Your new Eden
My worship pure and true
Take me back, back to the Garden
Verse 2
In the garden there is peace
Healing flows like gentle streams
You’re the Shepherd who is good and kind
I am welcomed like a son
By the God who authored love
I’m forever Yours and You are mine
Chorus
Bridge
Why would I desire anything less?
You’re my only treasure, Jesus
Chorus
