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Cody Carnes Shares Story Behind Writing Chart-Topping Worship Song, ‘The Blessing’

Photo from Cody Carnes’ Instagram

Cody Carnes Shares Story Behind Writing Chart-Topping Worship Song, ‘The Blessing’

By Movieguide® Staff

Christian musician Cody Carnes recently opened up about the songwriting process for the chart-topping worship song, “The Blessing.”

“The Blessing,” which you can watch Cody Carnes and his wife, Kari Jobe, perform live below, was released at the start of the pandemic, at a time of uncertainty.

It became an instant classic, reaching the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Christian digital song sales chart. The Blessing stayed in the number one spot for eleven weeks, and the above video currently has 78M views.

“We had actually … [been] already writing for eight hours, and we wrote a different song earlier that day, and we were kind of wrapping up getting ready to go home, and this idea happened,” Carnes told Sadie Robertson Huff during an episode of the WHOA THAT’S GOOD podcast. “So we stayed longer. We stayed till about midnight that night. And it just felt like the glory of God came in the room in a different way all of a sudden. … You do feel like, ‘Okay, this feels really powerful to us in this moment. And we know that God is here.’ But there is such a mystery to it still of you having no idea what a song is going to do.”

“God does what He does. It’s only Him. And it’s unbelievable to watch,” Carnes continued. “… We were literally so removed from any part of that song going around the world because we were in lockdown. We wrote the song a week and a half before the country shut down. And we released it like a week before the country shut down on YouTube. And so we didn’t write it in lockdown. It was not a result of, ‘Here’s where we are.’ It was literally this moment where God just chose to drop a song in a room. And we had no idea what was coming. … You really just feel like you get to be a part of something that God is doing.”

Despite his success, Canes said that he is consistently humbled by the part he gets to play in praising his savior.

“I would have moments where I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I got to be a part of writing this because this song is ministering to our family in this moment.’ Like, we’re trying to get through these waves of fear and uncertainty, and we’re singing this over our kids at night, and we’re clinging to the promises of God,” Carnes said. “… We just say, ‘Thank You, Jesus, that You gave something in that season to carry us through.’”

Movieguide® previously reported:

With the Covid-19 pandemic settling down and life resuming normalcy, Kari Jobe is ready to hit the road to bring her worship tour around the country after a two-year hiatus.

“I’m thankful we can all be together again,” Jobe said of the upcoming tour.

She and her husband, Cody Carnes, are heading out on a 13-city tour with Elevation Worship, hitting places like San Antonio, Knoxville, and Philadelphia, before finishing at Radio City Hall in New York City.

Even though she and Carnes are excited to spread their music, they will miss their two sons at home.

“[Negotiating life’s responsibilities is] a daily thing,” she explained. “We’re so thankful for the Holy Spirit and just thankful for being able to hear the Lord’s voice and just navigating, ‘God, where do we give our yes? Where do we give our no? How do we parent and be married and be artists and serve in our church?’ I don’t know if we’ll ever have the answer, but we kind of go season-by-season with it.”

To help make the decision, she said she and her husband adopted a practice they learned from friends and fellow musicians Jonathan David and Melissa Helser: asking God what he was inviting them to do, and if it was the right time for the invitation.

“Cody and I really adopted that, [asking], ‘Lord, are you inviting us into this tour? Are you inviting us into this event or this album or — you know, is this just a good idea or is this a God idea?’” Jobe explained. “That’s been really helpful for us to discern, just inviting the Lord into it and having Him tell us.”

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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.