VERSE 1:
My soul thirsts for things I can’t explain
In my bones a beckoning to pray
If my heart is a battleground
My defences run both ways
The flesh is a beggar and thief
But there is a Spirit-man awakening me
VERSE 2:
When real life and peace won’t make amends
When all these starts
Start feeling like these ends
Like the world is unravelling
And I’m bound to come undone
There is a Shepherd a Priest
There is a Comforter who comforts me
REFRAIN 1:
And my soul finds rest
Where it makes no sense
There the blood sets me free
REFRAIN 2:
All my old regrets
All my brokenness
All my failures redeemed
REFRAIN 3:
And it feels like grace
Where I stacked my shame
There the cross stands for me
REFRAIN 4:
All the things I’ve done
All the times I’ve run
All my dead ends redeemed
REFRAIN 5:
And it looks like hope
Where my heart was broke
And His heart broke for me
BRIDGE:
Lay your burden down upon
Down upon Him
Lay your burden down
PRE-CHORUS:
Jesus my rest in peace
My reconciler
You’re my every good thing
REFRAIN 6:
I surrender all
All I’m living for
You’re my every good thing
REFRAIN 7:
You’re my amnesty
You’re my split wide sea
You’re my every good thing
REFRAIN 8:
All my days and nights
You’re my death to life
You’re the wonder I breathe
REFRAIN 9:
You’re my can’t explain
First and last refrain
You’re my every good thing
Starts And Ends
Starts And Ends Song Meaning, Biblical Reference and Inspiration
The song "Starts And Ends" by Hillsong UNITED explores themes of internal conflict, human brokenness, and finding complete restoration in faith. The official video for the song was released on April 26, 2019, providing a visual dimension to the lyrical journey. The verses describe a soul's deep yearning and the internal struggle between the desires of the flesh and the stirrings of the spirit. It paints a picture of life's difficulties, where beginnings feel like endings and the world appears to be falling apart, leading to a sense of being undone.
The refrains introduce the core message of where true rest and redemption are found. They speak of finding peace in unexpected places and being set free by the power of the blood. The lyrics powerfully declare that past regrets, brokenness, and failures are all redeemed. It highlights how grace appears where shame was accumulated and how the cross stands as a sign of hope and salvation, transforming dead ends into opportunities for redemption. Hope is found in the place of a broken heart, rooted in the understanding that God's own heart was broken.
The bridge and subsequent refrains shift focus to a response of surrender and recognition of divine identity. The call is to lay burdens down upon God. The lyrics identify Jesus as the ultimate rest, reconciler, and "every good thing." This theme is amplified through declarations of surrendering all, recognizing Him as amnesty, the power to split wide seas, the transformer of death to life, and the wonder breathed. The final refrains affirm His presence as the unexplainable wonder, the first and last, and the source of every good thing.
The lyrical content resonates with numerous biblical concepts. The thirsting soul echoes Psalm 42:1-2, while the internal battle aligns with descriptions in Romans 7:15-25 and Galatians 5:17. The portrayal of God as Shepherd and Comforter reflects passages like Psalm 23:1 and John 14:16. The concept of finding rest is a central promise in Matthew 11:28. Redemption through blood is a fundamental theme throughout the New Testament, such as in Ephesians 1:7. Grace covering shame aligns with Romans 5:20 and 8:1, and the power of the cross is central to Galatians 6:14. Hope in brokenness is seen in Psalm 34:18. Laying burdens aligns with 1 Peter 5:7, and the theme of surrender is a call found in Romans 12:1. The transformation from death to life is a key aspect of the gospel, described in Romans 6:4.
