How the Pandemic Encouraged Matt Maher to Grow as a Father
By Movieguide® Staff
Christian singer Matt Maher said that his 2019 song “Run To The Father” became the motivation for him to be a better father to his children following the unique difficulties of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Maher, a father of three, wrote the song with worship leader Cody Carnes.
“I’m a dad. He’s a dad,” Maher said in an interview with 99.1 JOY FM. “It’s one of those things where we … wrote the song and it’s almost something that’s like so close, it’s like you don’t fully get it. I would say that that song, especially in light of last year and everything that all of us have been through, in particular as a dad, I’ve been locked home with my kids, which is great and crazy!
“I think, for me, fatherhood is a way in which God has exposed all the ways in which I’m lacking, but all the places in which He wants to provide,” Maher added. “So 2020 was a very hard year for everyone. I think for me as a dad, probably I’ll look back on it and realize it was a year where I, as a dad, realized I don’t want to act this way.”
Maher noted the importance of fatherhood and how parents become the closest earthly examples of our relationship with God.
“My dad passed away several years ago,” Maher said. “In the process of God reconciling things with that, as a kid, you get modeled [and] the closest thing to God is your parents, especially your dad. So you can have a very human concept of God and not even realize it because that’s who your dad was.”
“All of a sudden you start thinking, ‘Oh well, God isn’t patient. God gets angry really easily. He gets really disappointed, or He’s distant … and it’s like, He’s all those things,” he added. “He’s not those things; that’s not who He is.”
The chorus reads: “I run to the Father/ Fall into grace/I’m done with the hiding/ No reason to wait/ My heart needs a surgeon/ My soul needs a friend/ So I’ll run to the Father/ Again and again.”
Maher said that his three children, who are all under the age of 9, run to him and his wife when they are in need; a picture of how God will never turn his children.
“When my kids get hurt they just run to my wife and I. They don’t stop or hesitate, they just run. And that’s a profound revelation of what it means to have a heart open to God, to be able to run to Him when we’re hurting,” Maher said. “The other thing is as a parent that when I see my own child suffering, I run to them. I don’t wait for them to run to me. So even as I sing a song called ‘Run To The Father,’ I’m really, in some ways, singing about the fact that God’s already run to me and He’ll never get tired of me needing Him.”
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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.
