I am here for you – Stuart Townend

Stuart: I wrote this song with my daughter Emma. It’s a picture of the call on each one of us to walk alongside those in various kinds of need, with a a particular focus on those struggling emotionally and psychologically. The fact is we all have pain of various kinds in our lives, and we all need someone who is willing to come alongside us and be Christ to us in our pain and darkness. 

The song hints at various aspects of mental health, and the reaction to this song when we have performed it has been very strong. Many people have said they identify with the sentiments expressed, but simultaneously have struggled to express their mental health battles within the context of the church. It’s a sad fact that the place where there should be the greatest acceptance and compassion for those in need is often the place where it is most difficult to be really honest about the issues in our lives. We hope this song will help begin conversations about mental health in those churches and friendship groups that have perhaps held these very real battles at the periphery of their ministry and relationships. 

The song also recognises that, ultimately, we all have Christ who has walked every road before us and walks with us now, and that in being a support and companion to those in need, we are being Christ’s hands and eyes and ears. 

Emma: The further we got with this song, the more friendship became a very prominent theme. We began to explore the importance and value of walking the journey of life with the hurt and broken, right in the midst of their pain – not when it’s over and ‘tidy and done’ – but right in the messy, uncomfortable heart of suffering, a suffering that is very present and real in our churches, our communities and personal friendships. There are Christians with mental health problems. There are people with depression, with schizophrenia, with PTSD. So this song is an encouragement to walk beside one another, acknowledging we are all broken in some form. And the way we are called to support and love each other is a reflection of the way God supports and loves us.