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 “3Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all
comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from
God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so
also through Christ our comfort overflows.” 2 Corinthians 1
We
are encouraged to be conduits of the same comfort and hope that we
ourselves receive from the Lord. It’s the binding cord of, “I know
exactly how you feel.” This emphatic connecting power is foundational in
the life and ministry of Bonnie Keen and is evident throughout her
latest release, God of Many Chances.
From
the opening, the majestic church anthem, “To God the Father and the Risen
Christ,” to the reverential “Benediction,” God of Many Chances
points the walking wounded to the place where they can find a pool of
cleansing and healing balm at the foot of the Cross.
Bonnie
rejoices in the Blood’s cleansing and restorative power in the title cut
as well as in “Sweet Forgiveness.” She encourages the listener to
remember who they are in the Body of Christ in the soaring “My Beloved,”
and in a new rendition of First Call’s classic, “Parable of the River.”
“Something Was Broken,” expounds the power of believing without seeing,
and “My Beloved,” is a love letter of encouragement from our Bridegroom.
From
my heart/From my hand/You were formed for a sacred romance/Image made
from my own/My Beloved/…I sing for you my beloved/Day by day, a rhapsody
of grace/The heavens rejoice at the sound of your name.
Bonnie
puts an interesting twist to the old youth camp song, “Kum Ba Ya.” One of
the most powerful songs on the project is the beautifully poignant, “When
God Says No,” an honest acknowledgement that bad things happen, yet in
the hand of God, nothing is ever wasted.
When
God says no/He’s always saying yes/ Yes I will protect you/ Yes, my
child, I know what’s best/Yes to better dreams/You have yet to know/There
is hidden affirmation/When God says no.
“This
side of heaven I do not think we will ever understand some of the things
that happen in our lives,” Bonnie says. “The Cross looked like the
biggest ‘No’ in the universe – but it was the biggest ‘Yes.’ I believe
that the work of God is redemptive and His redemption is always at work.”
Listeners
are deeply affected by God of Many Chances. “I'm having a
lot of people respond in visceral ways to "When God Says No,"
Bonnie states, “and interestingly, to "Kum Ba Ya."”
She
recently heard from Eva Marie Everson, a well-known author/speaker, who
had this to say about the project,
“I
just wanted to tell you privately how much your
CD ministered to me in my recent month-long journey into the heart of
God. It was a DIFFICULT time...and you helped guide me toward the purity
and brokenness of the Father's heart. Your song, "The Gate Called
Beautiful..."ripped me to shreds...which I needed to be!”
God
of Many Chances
is a project written in the lifeblood of Bonnie Keen; she has
faced an unwanted divorce, suffered from clinical depression, and
struggled as a single mother. She knows the pain of which she sings; yet,
she also knows first hand the redemptive power of God.
“The
enemy would love to use depression, heartache, loneliness, and bad
situations to wipe up out,” she insists, “But when we take it to the
cross, God takes it and turns it into something tremendously powerful for
His kingdom and His glory. It is a humbling thing to live long enough to
see that happen over and over again.”
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