“American Idol” alum and Dove Award-winning artist Colton Dixon spoke with ChurchLeaders regarding his summer jam “UP + UP,” which was inspired by Jeremiah 29:11.
Dixon said the single came together more quickly than is normal for him and was “such a God thing.” The song centers on a Bible verse that Dixon has “always loved,” and which says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”
“Trying to figure out what God’s plan is for our life, I feel like, has been a source of contention amongst a lot of people,” said Dixon. That’s why Dixon believes the Holy Spirit led him to open up his Bible to Jeremiah.
Dixon shared that although he was raised in the church, he wasn’t really taught that God’s plans are meant to “prosper us.” Instead, he was taught that “in order to be a Christian, you’ve got to be poor. It’s like a poverty mindset versus a prosperity mindset.”
“It’s pretty clear in God’s Word what he wants to do and what his plan is for us. To me, that communicates a glory-to-glory, up-and-up best case scenario,” he added.
Dixon said that during his “American Idol” journey, there were times when he thought this or that “looks pretty good.” But sometimes, he said, “we settle for pretty good when we could have had God’s best.”
“God has a plan for you that exceeds anything you could ever imagine, and he wants to get the best to you,” Dixon said. “That’s the kind of God that we serve!”
He continued, “If you don’t think that the God who sent his only Son to die on a cross for you and me so that we could spend eternity with him wants to get us some goodies along the way, you’re out of your mind. You’re crazy. That’s the kind of God that I serve.”
Dixon shared that there have been “several times” in his life when he “settled for something that seemed good in the moment,” only to realize later that he “chose this before [he] talked it over” with God.
