Davy Flowers
11 min read ⭑
“The revelation of God’s affection for me ultimately displayed in the cross of Christ has transformed my whole world. I grew up in the quintessential expression of a broken home, and it has taken 22 years of walking with the Lord to shed the orphan mentality that God’s love is for everyone else but me. I will never get tired of writing songs about the wild and insane nature of God’s love for his people.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
I moved to Dallas, Texas a little over two years ago after having not lived in Texas since I left Houston for college in 2005. Since then, I have lived some of everywhere and have had the joy of experiencing Jesus, life and community in several different cultures and environments — from serving overseas as a missionary in Swaziland and South Africa to going to Bible college in Kansas City to serving on a local church staff in Brandon, Mississippi, and a couple of other random places in between.
Although every single one of those places has left an indelible mark on who I am as a person and my walk with the Lord to this day, I am and will always be a Texas girl — specifically, a Houstonian. And we Houstonians know a thing or two about good food! A more recent memory of a significant meal shared with someone I love was about a year ago.
As is our custom, my dad and I met at a Pappadeuxs (some of the best seafood Houston has to offer in my opinion) for lunch.
My dad and I have a pretty rocky history, but through God’s redeeming power (literally), we have begun to build a relationship of trust and friendship over the past few years. So meals like these are not only precious but also a taste of a restoration that only a God of love and power can bring. This particular meal was not clouded with the familiar awkwardness or weight of a broken relationship. It was filled with laughter and just a father and daughter enjoying one another in the present moment without being highjacked by the past. It was truly beautiful. I don’t particularly remember what I ate, but I am sure shrimp were involved.
Mārtiņš Zemlickis; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
Back in 2017, I pretty much went from couch to full marathon in six months. Having been one to easily give up on things the moment the rubber hits the road and the emotions wear off, I was really determined to prove to myself (and let’s be honest, to everyone else) that I could do hard things without quitting. So I worked my body almost to its breaking point, blew through several pairs of shoes, made sacrifices, spent several hours a week out on the pavement, worked through all of the underlying emotional pain, fear and insecurity that rose to the surface throughout my training, and I made it to the finish line!
It was the hardest physical thing I’ve done in my life and certainly the most rewarding. Fast forward five years later, and running brings me more joy than most other things. I’m not very good at it. Some days I require a ton of motivation to actually go out and do it. I’m not always in shape. These days I’m running at a snail’s pace or even have to do walk/run intervals, but something about the combination of being out in the beauty of God’s world, being alone with my thoughts and my God and pushing myself beyond my perceived limits is just life to my soul. Every single time I run — no matter what the conditions or quality of the run — God meets me. And his goodness and pleasure over me are undeniably tangible.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Since I was a kid, I have always been celebrated for being different and uniquely talented — whether it was because of some sort of magnetic charisma or the gift of singing in a way that made people feel good.
In my immaturity, I interpreted that celebration as a statement about my worth, and specifically my worthiness of affection and companionship. So throughout the years, I have had to fight the temptation to perform for affection. That’s my kryptonite. I’m tempted every single day of my life, in every single relationship that I have, and in every single scenario to prove by way of my “unique giftings and personality” that I am worth pursuing, knowing and loving.
Of course, the gospel of grace — the truth that salvation (and everything else glorious) is attained through faith in Christ alone should put that narrative to rest, but it’s something I have to be reminded of every single day because my memory tends to be short when it comes to believing that I am who the Father says I am and that this position of being loved and belonging to God has absolutely nothing to do with my merit, performance or output. Whether it’s pride or insecurity — two sides of the same coin in my opinion — I have to fight the temptation of both every single day almost all day long. God, have mercy!
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
The message that I hope folks connect with that is threaded throughout all of my music — especially my most recently released record, “I Was Loved” — is just a declaration of what it means to me (and what it has meant through the years) to be loved by God. I’m not just talking about mentally accepting the information that God loves me but also experiencing it deeply in every area of my life as part of my story.
The revelation of God’s affection for me ultimately displayed in the cross of Christ has transformed my whole world. I grew up in the quintessential expression of a broken home, and it has taken 22 years of walking with the Lord to shed the orphan mentality that God’s love is for everyone else but me. I will never get tired of writing songs about the wild and insane nature of God’s love for his people.
How the affection of God has shaped and molded my heart through every season of walking with him — that’s just the banner that I’m always going to raise! I’m also a part of a beautiful worship collective and community based in Dallas, Texas, called the Worship Initiative. We exist to help equip and resource musicians, vocalists and worship leaders with both heart training and craft training. It’s our heart and desire to provide resources that are saturated in the Bible, centered on Christ and empowered by the Spirit so they can equip leaders to initiate genuine worship within the hearts of those they’re leading.
You can track all things the Worship Initiative on theworshipinitiative.com, and you can track all things that have to do with what I’m doing these days on davyflowers.com. I hope and pray that anything of mine you get your hands on would help stir your affection for God and empower your pursuit of him! We all know that the struggle is real!
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
The longer I walk with God, the more I have become convinced that he is truly moving everywhere at all times. He is speaking at all times, seeking to reveal himself and his heart to us in all things.
Whether that’s the glorious intricacies of creation or the inconceivable intricacies of our stories and lives day to day. The people we meet. The meals we share. The walks we take. The food that we eat. The conversations that we have. The grace and patience of others. The sufferings we endure. The triumphs we celebrate. The children or parents we care for. The monotonous and the mundane. He is literally everywhere if we are looking for him. There really shouldn’t be a moment when I’m lacking inspiration if I’m truly dialed in to find it.
For me, the sources of inspiration change with the seasons even though there are staples that I fight to prioritize no matter what life looks like. For instance, I seek to consistently contemplate Scripture, engage in Christian community, and so on. Recently, I’ve sensed the Lord’s presence the most significantly in prayer. Not the shouting, pleading, intercessory kind of prayer but the still, quiet, often silent, waiting, listening kind of prayer.
Silence has breathed a fresh wind of life into my heart’s attempt to find God. It’s just so loud right now! It always has been, but these past few years have just seemed a little extra noisy. And as I quiet my soul and sit with God with no real goal or agenda except to be with him, I find that I’m way more aware of and sensitive to the inspiration of the Spirit’s voice.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
I’m not an incredibly disciplined person by nature, so I generally have to keep things pretty simple to maintain consistency, especially where spiritual disciplines are concerned.
These days, two things have kept my heart open and aware of God’s abiding presence with me. For several months now, I’ve been doing something called Lectio Divina first thing in the morning (and on a good week, a few more times throughout the day). It’s a monastic practice of Scripture reading that emphasizes prayer and meditation. It may sound kind of weird, but it’s pretty simple. It’s usually a 10- to 12-minute reflection on a short passage of Scripture with moments of quiet listening to God’s voice speaking through his Word and praying around the Scripture for the day. The point is to start my day with an acknowledgment and awareness of God’s nearness and to prayerfully wrap my heart around a simple truth in his word. It’s simple and short but incredibly effective!
I use an app called Lectio 365, but there are several similar resources out there! the other thing for me has been Scripture memory. This is a practice I’ve done off and on through the years, but I’m in a season now where I am so desperate to have God’s Word live in me. Right now, I’m slowly making my way through memorizing Romans 8.
What that looks like for me is adding on a few new verses a day and pretty much any down moment I have, whether that’s driving or waiting for someone to arrive at a meeting. I’m often repeating the verses either out loud or in my head, and I have a journal solely for Scripture memory where I just write the verses over and over and over again. This is my heart’s attempt to allow God’s Word to become the tape playing in my head all day as opposed to the nagging voice of my own anxiety, fear and ego!
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
Oh, I’m so excited to answer this one! I love “putting people on” to things that are blessing me! First off, “The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer — I have read this book every year for the past five years, and no other book outside of the Bible has strengthened my heart’s pursuit of Jesus like this book has. It’s deeply convincing, compelling and written in a way that just tugs at every single God-planted string within our hearts.
I’m also a huge Henri Nouwen fan. I’ve read most of his books, but the one that I would take with me if I were stranded on a desert island is “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” It’s all about the challenge of loving as God loves and being loved as God’s beloved. It’s so good!
Last one — John Mark Comer an author and former pastor out of Portland, Oregon, recently created an online spiritual formation equipping resource that offers all kinds of tools for growing in Christlikeness called “Practicing the Way.” You can find resources on their website as well as spiritual formation-oriented sermons on John Mark’s podcast called “Practicing the Way.”
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it’s done for you.
I cannot overemphasize the power of God’s Word to strengthen, sustain and keep us in the way of our God. Of course, it’s going to look different in every season of life, but we simply can’t afford not to prioritize a consistent diet of reading, studying, reflecting on and praying God’s Word.
One of the tools I use frequently that help me engage with Scripture is my ESV Study Bible. I’ve used many different study Bibles through the years, but in my opinion, this one has the most thorough and grounded commentary.
I also use the Dwell App, which is an audio Bible app with pretty much every translation and several different speaking voice options.
Lastly, my current favorite online commentary is called Enduring Word. You can get it in app form or just go straight to the website, and you will find encouraging and compelling commentary on every chapter of the Bible! Every time I use this commentary alongside my daily reading, it really helps me!
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Okay, there’s a dream that lives in the corner of my heart, and if I had all of the time and resources required, I would jump on it. Right now, I don’t have any active plans in play, but it’s a dream that I could definitely see coming to fruition in the next few years. Being an avid consumer of devotionals written by other people throughout the years, I’ve often thought, I would love to write a devotional.
It would be something simple, short and sweet yet poetic and compelling. And if I had to name the theme right now, it would definitely be the love of the Father. I can imagine a title like “Being the Beloved” or something similar. In it, I would give my two cents on the major passages and portions in Scripture that tell us about the nature of God’s affection for his people. Just thinking about it gets me excited, so maybe I should go ahead and get that ball rolling.
The need to feel loved is one of the most fundamental human needs. Even the scientific community recognizes this!
A 2019 study by Penn State found that feeling loved fosters a sense of optimism and purpose and often leads to higher levels of psychological well-being. But the opposite is true, too — those who don’t regularly have “brief experiences of love and connection in everyday life” are more likely to report higher levels of neuroticism. Could this be yet another example of how we were created by our Father for love and connection?
What’s even more amazing is that, as followers of Jesus, we have access to a love that far outweighs anything we could experience from another human being. The Bible describes it this way:
“By this we know love, that [Jesus] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay our lives down for our brothers” (1 John 3:16, ESV).
From that place of being completely loved, we can, in turn, love this world like Jesus — because that’s what we were made for.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Davy Flowers is a worship leader and songwriter who carries a passion to see people from all walks of life encounter Christ for themselves in authentic and transforming ways. Her heart’s desire is to write songs and lead worship in such a way that connects broken and weary hearts with the power, presence and love of God. She is currently a resident artist and songwriter at the Worship Initiative and is a worship leader at Watermark Community Church.
