Experiencing the Peace of God - The Perrys - Concert Recap

When I saw that the Perrys were booked in Little Rock at the end of February, I of course put it on my calendar. I didn't realize then how the group would change over the weeks before then, how their world would be shaken with the death of patriarch Tracy Stuffle. When I got there that night, I knew it would be different seeing them again. I just didn't realize the kind of different. But when people have gone through a major loss and can stand on stage and proclaim the name of Jesus and how faithful He is, it's a special kind of worship. The hurt is fresh, but their love and dedication to God hasn't wavered. You can tell that every song maybe means even more than before. Every word that is sung is felt deep down because they are living it. Sometimes in the greatest times of grief, there's the sweetest kind of worship because we can be reassured of just how good God is. That's what the Perrys showed that night.

The Perrys sang several songs from Testament. They started the night with "Let's Stop for a Moment" and also sang their latest single "Moses and Elijah." I was so glad that Troy sang his feature, "Sing in the Valley." This is such an incredible song and fits Troy perfectly. Andrew also sang "It Carried Him," another favorite from that project. Love this song!

They pulled out a few older songs like Libbi singing "Did I Mention" and "Calvary Answers for Me." Andrew does such a great job on that song. They sang several Goodman songs, "Living in Canaan Now," "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now" and then "God Walks the Dark Hills." It was such a sweet spirit with Libbi singing "God Walks the Dark Hills," incredible moment.

Libbi talked about their journey over the last few weeks and how she's learned more and more about the peace and sustaining grace of God. She sang "Celebrate Me Home" while they showed pictures of Tracy with family and friends. It was such a touching tribute to Tracy and a way to honor him, his memory and share with the people a little more about his passing and the journey they have been on in the weeks prior.

They planned on closing the night with "If You Knew Him," until the pastor asked for one more song, a barn-burner, so they started the track for "I Wish I Could Have Been There." It had the entire audience on its feet clapping along.

I'm so thankful for the worship that night. It was easy to see the peace that can only come from truly knowing God and walking with Him even in the hardest of times. Sometimes the sweetest worship can come during the times of greatest grief and that's what I got to witness that night.