Let There be Light: Finding Hope in a World of Darkness
Listening to RAYE’s music, you might be left feeling empowered, overwhelmed, or exasperated through the themes addressed in her songs.
Covering topics such as environmental anxiety, sexual abuse and body dysmorphia, RAYE’s songs do not simply allow you to enjoy her stunning voice, but also dive into the issues of suffering, offering her suggestions of how to change, or simply how to cope.
RAYE’s musical journey began with her family at church, where she sang with her mother in the choir. However, her journey in the music industry came with extreme challenges. RAYE faced unbelief in her talent, and even sexual abuse, addressed in her song Ice Cream Man where she describes her experiences. She writes: “Everything you did, it left me in a ruin.”
This led to her struggle with drugs, and in an interview with the BBC she says, “for me, sadly, substance abuse was entangled with numbing the trauma that I had experienced. I got pretty deep in and it got really dangerous at one point.” After leaving the music label she was working with, RAYE independently released her album My 21st Century Blues. The trauma RAYE experienced is embedded in her music. Her experiences have formed her into the woman she is, and her music flows with the pain and beauty which surfaces as a result.
RAYE’s connection with Christianity is evident in many of her songs. In Hard Out Here, she makes the words of the prophet Isaiah her own, singing, “You start to wonder why I’m Christian / Without the Lord I’d take my life for all the times I’ve been a victim / Oh, no weapon formed against me shall ever prosper”. Within this lyric a reference to her attempt at suicide is included. In interviews, she describes the depth of despair she faced, and it was connecting with the Church which pulled her out of this pit. She comments, “There’s a world in which if I didn’t find faith again, I might not even be here”.
In her most recent release, Genesis, the chorus contains the lyric “let there be light”, a direct quote from Genesis 1:3 in The Bible. The song addresses her struggle with comparison, manifested in her issues with social media and struggles with her past. RAYE sings, “I can feel the demons waiting on my downfall since I’m so ugly and irrelevant.” The despair of which RAYE writes is evident, and yet the repetition which surfaces, “let there be light” portrays a hope. She sings, “Genesis one, verse three, I’ll dry my eyes / The only thing which darkness cannot coexist is the light”. This hits the depth of the Christian message.RAYE’s faith is a lifeline for her, and a genuine relationship with Jesus not only saves from the sorrows and suffering inflicted by the world but also offers a hopeful salvation that extends into eternity. A close friend of Jesus wrote: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The light of which John speaks is Jesus: The Light which finally conquers all suffering, including trauma, anxiety and depression.
Jesus claims to give peace and purpose in the midst of hard experiences in this life, and a life forever in heaven free from sadness, suffering and sin.
Best of all: he offers life with him to all who trust him. No wonder RAYE considers him the lifeline she needs. The issues that RAYE’s songs bring to the surface offer an opportunity to consider the truth of the good news Jesus brings. Have you considered Jesus as the Person to shine light in your life, help you in your struggles, and ultimately rescue you from them?