We’re HUGE fans of Cody Carnes here! Take a listen as he discusses with Erica his song, “Firm Foundation,” which was written during a period of anxiety and panic attacks. That song helped him transform his feelings of fear into hope and faith in Jesus. Listen for his message on the importance of praising God even in difficult times, as it helps to lift perspective and pass through the valley moments.
Click PLAY for a foundational punch of hope & inspiration.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Spirit 1053. Hi, it’s Erica!
Cody:
Hey, it’s Cody. How are you?
Erica:
Cody! It’s so awesome to hear your voice. How’s it going?
Cody:
It’s going great. You’re so full of joy. I love it!
Erica:
Oh my word. Well, I get to talk with you and the other night I’m scrolling through Instagram and you come up right there on my little tiny screen as I’m going to bed. And you talked about singing your way out of something, how the Lord gave you a song. Cody, tell me about this song.
Cody:
Oh, well, the song is Firm Foundation. That song was given to me. I was on the verge of a panic attack and I had been on the verge of a panic attack for a couple weeks at that point in my life. And the Lord, I woke up one day and I felt like the Lord said, you’re going to sing your way out of this today. And I said, okay, how are we going to do that? And so I started writing Firm Foundation that morning. God was just giving me the song and speaking to me through it. And it was such a beautiful morning because I’m walking around my house and I’m writing the song, and I’m singing it over and over and over and over and over. And I realized that by the time I’d been done writing it, I’d been singing it for a couple of hours.
Just through those declarations of faith, my heart had completely turned upside down from anxiety and fear to just this confident hope in Jesus. And so that song was just birthed out of that transformation that happened in me, of God leading me through that moment, seeing my way out of that pit, basically. And so, I’m so thankful for that song, so thankful for that moment. And I feel like the song does the same thing when I lead it in rooms. I can see it happen. The same thing happening in people, and I hear stories of that all the time. And God is so great. He really just does pull us out of those moments, those pits.
Erica:
That is so awesome. It’s funny because I’ve been thinking about the story of Paul and Silas recently. They’re thrown in jail for their faith, for their belief in Jesus, and their feet are in stalks. You can imagine how uncomfortable they were. And at midnight, they start praising and praying and singing, and they’re singing through their misery. And you know what I got to thinking about is look at the people around them who heard them, and then the jail doors opened, then God got the jailer saved. There is so much that comes out when we praise through.
Cody:
Yes, yes, a hundred percent. And I walked through the hardest moments of my life in the 18 months that these songs are written. From that moment I just shared in moments like it, I also lost my dad in these 18 months. It’s the hardest, deepest grief and mourning that I’d ever walked through. But also just felt just the presence of God, the presence of the counselor and the comforter. In those moments, these songs were just songs of praise, praise that hurt, but helps. Not easy praise. I love in Psalms, David says he has to command his soul to praise God. Sometimes we have to do that. It doesn’t always feel good, but praise is so good for the soul. And what I’ve learned about it is that we’re going to experience those valley moments in life, those hard moments. But we’re not meant to set up camp in the valley. And sometimes we do. Sometimes we set up camp there that becomes our identity. And before we know it, we’re 20 years down the road and we’re still like, that thing happened to us yesterday, but we’re meant to pass through the valley. We’re going to feel it. We’re going to experience it. We’re meant to pass through. And what I’ve learned about praise is that it’s really helpful for the passing through. When I can command my heart and my soul to declare who God is. When I can command my soul to praise the Lord. It just lifts. It helps to lift, it helps to lift perspective, and it helps just to pass through those valley moments. And so, I’ve experienced that through these songs on this album, and that’s where they come from. And I pray that they help people do the same thing.
Erica:
Oh, I believe that they will. And I just feel like the Holy Spirit is all over this conversation because now you’ve got me thinking we’ve got this good Shepherd who even when we do pitch a tent and start making s’mores in the valley, he stays with us. Cody, he’s not going anywhere.
Cody:
So good. That’s so true. He is good that way. He sat with me in my deepest mourning and grieving, I felt like the father was sitting next to me with his arm around me in those moments. And he really is good. Well,
Erica:
What does that look like? I mean, how do you get to that place? And by the way, I’m so sorry about your dad. I didn’t know that. That’s hard. So when you say God comforts you, what does that look like?
Cody:
It feels like a good friend. When you’re in the presence of a good friend who sits with you, your heart feels the warmth that it feels, the comfort that it feels. It feels just like that. And so, you just have to know. Faith says the Lord is with me right here in this place. I feel the comfort of the Lord. I feel peace. That doesn’t make any sense. I feel this assuredness, even though everything is shaky. There was a moment specifically where I was sitting by myself and I’m crying and I’m super, I’m just mourning my dad. I just saw a father with his arm wrapped around me, and I felt that warmth, felt that comfort, felt that peace. And so I just said, Lord, thank you for being here with me in this. You’re really good. You really are close to the broken hearted like your Word said, and you rescued those, your Christian spirit. And blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. It’s like all those scriptures I experienced for real.
Erica:
Amen. Well, moving on to family a little bit here. I want to tell you, I just got off the phone with a mom who had an eight month old little son in the backseat. And I was asking her, what’s your song right now? And she said, The Blessing. She said, that is just her song. Love it. And I just wanted to share that with you to think about the generational impact that you and Carrie have had on families. I mean, that’s just got to touch your heart in a big way.
Cody:
It really does. I mean, there’s nothing like that. I love, my favorite videos on Instagram are the videos of people tagging us and their kids are singing in the backseat. Those are the best they, they’re our favorite. But yeah, I mean, that song is so special and we’re so thankful that the Lord just gave it to us and just, I mean, gave it to the world really in a time when we really needed to cling to the promises of God. And I remember in the pandemic, we were singing it over our kids just like anybody else was. I mean, it was just bringing a lot of comfort, a lot of peace, just singing those scriptures, those promises of God. And so just so that that song is helping so many people. It’s really beautiful.
Erica:
Oh, me too. So Cody, it’s back to school season. Are your kids experiencing any milestones this year?
Cody:
They are. Our oldest is in second grade, and our youngest is four. And he started school for the first time actually today. Today is their first day back to school. And so yeah, our little guy just going to school, being brave, it’s really, really sweet.
Erica:
Oh, that’s so awesome. Did you go out and get a big coffee after you dropped off the kids?
Cody:
I sure did. The school had a coffee cart actually at the school today for all the parents. That was really nice of them. So we all gathered around and got some coffee and it was good. And our house is way too quiet at this point. Never this quiet.
Erica:
That’s so funny. Hey, Cody, what kind of pep talk would you give a kid who’s going back to school, thinking back to… you remember those butterflies you and I used to feel on the bus? What would you say to encourage them right now?
Cody:
Yeah, I met some of my best friends at school and God led me into some really, really great relationships. And so I would just say that God has a special gift planned for you at your school, and he has special things for you to do. He has ways for you to help show other people love and help impact other people and show them the love of Jesus. And God’s walking with you every step of the way. In moments right now in my life, when I get nervous or when I feel anxious, I just pray this simple prayer,
Prince of peace, walk with me.
And so I think that that would be a great prayer just to take into your school and those moments when you’re walking your hallway and maybe you feel nervous, just pray. Prince of peace, walk with me. Jesus is there walking with you. He’s with you every step of the way, protecting you, giving you words to say when you need it, giving you wisdom when you need it. So yeah, I just pray that you sense everything that God has you to do at school and that you just make some really, really amazing friends.
Erica:
Oh, amen. Cody Carnes, I have to tell you, you’re my favorite person to interview. Thank you for opening your heart.
Cody:
Oh, thank you. That’s so nice.
Erica:
Well, I sincerely mean it. This is only our second time talking, but I don’t know, there’s just a really special thing that God does through you. And so I really want to say thank you for your time and come back.
Cody:
Well, I would love to come back. This has been awesome. Thank you so much.
Catch hope & encouragement with Erica on weekday mornings from 5:00 AM – 10:00 AM, and Sundays from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
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