Fanuel Sedekia - Upendo Lyrics

“Upendo” by Fanuel Sedekia is a Swahili praise chant on the gifts that come from Jesus. The word “upendo” means love, and the lines repeat “upendo wa Yesu,” the love of Jesus, with a response of “upendo.” One line says that He gave His life, which points to the cross as the proof of that love.

The second section turns to “amani,” peace, again repeated as “amani ya Yesu,” the peace of Jesus. The next section begins “furaha,” joy. Together the three words follow the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, and the peace of Jesus is close to the promise in John 14:27.

The giving of His life recalls John 15:13 and Romans 5:8. The lyric is short and built for call and response, so a leader can sing the word and the congregation answers. Its message is that love, peace, and joy are found in Jesus.