During the first days of September 2001, I got a strong impression that I was to write a 'song of hope' that the Church could sing. Actually I had been trying to write a song of hope since '99, when many people were overcome by the fear of Y2K, but none of my writing attempts led anywhere. I could sense this time was different as I began with "Jesus, hope of the nations . . ." The writer of the gospel of Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah who says "In his name, the nations will put their hope" Matthew 12:21. I wanted to communicate that hope was not a feeling, but sourced in the person of Jesus. I finished the verse and the pre-chorus, but couldn't seem to get the 'right' chorus. Then September 11th happened and I realised even more clearly why we needed songs of hope to sing!! In the days following, when I was grounded due to the planes not flying, I wrote the chorus, and within a few weeks, the first version of the song was recorded in Colorado Springs.

--www.re-vived.com