Worship Songs That Move Me
Sometimes you just need to crank up the tunes and let the music wash over you. That’s how I feel about these five worship songs. They point me to the Truth of Christ and the Gospel when I need it. They remind me of my identity in Him. They echo the hope that God gives us in His Word. Over and over again, these worship songs move me.
We see God’s people singing in the Bible and worshipping Him through song. It’s no accident that we start church on Sunday mornings with worship. Our voices were created to reflect His glory—in our words and in our songs.
So grab your headphones or turn the speaker on loud, and praise God with me.
1. "Fear is a Liar" - Zach Williams
Zach Williams has done it once again with this song. I can almost guarantee the music video will make you cry. In fact, the first probably 10 times I heard this song in the car, I would start crying. I wrestle with fear, anxiety, perfectionism, comparison. I think most of us do. Williams' song cuts to the heart of our fears, reminding us those doubts come straight from Satan. Christ paid our debts by his blood, and He wants a relationship with us. All we have to do is believe in Him. He's made us fully capable, fully courageous, and fully free.
2. "You Say" - Lauren Daigle
Oh this song. It gives me chills. Every. Single. Time.
"I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up... Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know. You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You said I am held when I am fallen ashore. And when I don't belong, You say I am Yours. And I believe."
I constantly need to be reminded that my identity is in Christ alone. When I feel alone, He is with me. When I feel weak, He has made me strong. No matter what I'm going through—no matter what you are going through—You have an identity that is secure in Jesus.
This week I heard Daigle's song on the top 40 radio station here, and I about started crying all over again. We need the message of the Gospel now more than ever, and even pop radio recognizes it. We need to keep looking up.
3. "King of My Heart" - Steffany Gretzinger, Jeremy Riddle, and Christine Rhee (Bethel Music)
Watch this live music video, and you will feel the depth of God's promises to us. He is good, and He is faithful. He's made a covenant with us for all generations. Jesus died the death we deserve and rose to eternal life, giving us access forever to Him, The Father, Holy Spirit. God never goes back on His promises. He is the very definition of faithful. If you are in a difficult season of life, sing these words over yourself. "You are good, You're good... You're never gonna let me down."
4. "Your Love Defends Me" - Matt Maher
I first heard Matt Maher as a sophomore or junior in high school during youth group. I liked his music back then, but it was until I recently listened to this song that I felt a true sense of worship:
"Surely My God is the strength of my soul. Your love defends me... And when I feel like I'm all alone, Your love defends me."
When Maher launches into the "Hallelujah" part of the song, I can't help but praise God. God, you are my portion and my salvation. You are all I need.
5. "Who You Say I Am" - Hillsong Worship
No matter how lost you might feel, Jesus is for you. He wants to give you a new name as a child of God. We can chase a million things in this world hoping they will finally fulfill us. Dating, marriage, kids. Money. Career success. Beauty, influence, attention. Drugs, alcohol, food, gambling. We can chase it all, but nothing will ever satisfy us. Only Jesus can do that. He's given us a place at the table as his beloved sons and daughters.
"I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am." Let us walk in that freedom, friends!
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.
Another Year in Nashville
Two years in Nashville. I knew without a doubt in 2016 when I bought a one-way ticket from New York, New York, to Nashville, Tennessee, that God called me to Nashville. I had been praying about a move away from New York for a while, but I wasn’t sure what that looked like in reality. Leave it to God to make His will abundantly clear in ways I never expected. He plucked me out of the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple and planted me firmly in the suburbs of Nashville, with a job in full-time ministry.
God took me—a Chicago native, journalism school grad, and NYC magazine editor—and called me to Himself. He used my struggles with an eating disorder to reveal more of Himself to me and to push me toward ultimate, glorious surrender. And you know what? He didn’t stop there. He moved me down south and gave me a ministry job with one of the most incredible church families I’ve ever seen.
Friends, the Lord does big things all around us every day. We had only open our eyes to them.
I never thought Nashville would be home, but here we are two years in and I feel at peace here. There are things I miss about New York, sure. And, of course, I miss my family back in Chicago. Yet at the same time, I sense God doing big things here in me, in my marriage, in my ministry. He’s at work, and He keeps showing me more and more glimpses of Himself.
“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
Moving to Nashville has helped me see the value of rest. I’m talking true unplugged, soul-renewing rest. Easier said than done, but the theme of rest is a constant one in my life. It often means going against what we hear in our culture. To really rest, I have to disconnect from social media and set aside rules about what I “should” be doing.
Do you ever feel that way, too? In the past two years, God has continually reminded me that what I need is Him. That’s what we all need. Not a new house, a better job, more money, or to finally meet that significant other. When we let our soul rest in Him and Him alone, life finally starts to make sense.
I listened to a sermon from The Village Church today, and Pastor Matt Chandler shared this C.S. Lewis quote:
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” ”
That’s exactly what I feel God’s been teaching me in these 24 months of living in Nashville. Without Jesus, this life means nothing. We were made by Him to live our lives for Him.
Charles and I got married this year—but marriage doesn’t fully satisfy. We moved into a bigger apartment in a better location—but this earthly home doesn’t satisfy. I started a new job at a startup in a role I knew God wanted me to step into—but my career doesn’t satisfy. These things are good things and total blessings. I don’t take them for granted. The truth of the Gospel helps me keep them in their rightful place, well below a relationship with Our Father—the only One who ever truly satisfies.
I’ll continue praying about this for as long as I live in Nashville and as long as I live. Lord, fix my eyes on You and give me that kind of soul-satisfying contentment that only You can.
If you ever doubt where you are in life, feel like you’re falling behind or like you just can’t seem to get it together, know that He already has it together, and He accepts you exactly as you are. He’s got this, my friend. Follow His call, and I promise you the rest will follow.
“The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.”
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.
Help Me Make the Blog the Best It Can Be
There’s nothing like the smell of fall in the air to help revitalize you. I haven’t been writing as much these past few months with our wedding and settling into married life, moving into a new place, and taking on more work in my day job. But I have so many ideas in mind for this space, and I am excited to get back to writing in this new season!
I’d love your feedback in making this blog better than ever. Will you fill out the quick survey below? And as always, feel free to leave me a comment or send me a direct message. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Steadfast in Every Season
Back in January, I wrote about my word of the year and why I chose "steadfast."
steadfast (adj.)
(1) Firmly fixed in place: immovable.
(2) Firm in belief, determination, or adherence: loyal.
"I pray God cultivates steadfastness in me like His son, Jesus. This year, I pray my faith is resolutely firm. I want to be devoted to God no matter the situation or season. His love for us is unwavering—I want that kind of love for Him in return. I know I am prone to worry and anxiety. I like to be in control. But God, I give that to You.
Lord, help me to stand firm in the faith. Guard me against sin and temptation and keep me focused on you. Give me steadfastness. Endurance for the fight and total surrender to the King.
That's the life I want to live in 2018: steadfast and true."
Here we are, 7 months later, and I need that steadfastness in my life.
I have felt my emotions running the gamut these past few weeks. Anger, frustration, impatience, irritability. I have felt like a hormonal teenager all the time, getting annoyed by the slightest things and allowing a cloud of negativity to hang over my usual sunny self.
Charles and I recently moved, and I find myself rooting my emotions in the state of boxes in our apartment. When our home feels disheveled, so do I. I let my emotions carry me away, rather than anchoring myself in the Father above and the truth I know in Him.
God loves feelings. Jesus Himself experienced the depth of feelings while here on this earth. He knows deep joy and love, grief, anxiety, and empathy like no one else. He understands feelings because He is the One who created them.
So my feelings are not a bad thing. My feelings are not a problem in the eyes of God. Instead, my feelings are meant to show me more of Him. When I am upset about a messy apartment or frustrated that I can't do things exactly my way, what does that say about my heart?
I think about Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph, whom God loved, was put through situation after situation in which his faith was tested. Yet he never wavered. He followed God, and he credited all to God's righteousness. Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and left to die. Then his brothers changed their minds and sold him as a slave to men passing by. Why let him die when they could prosper off his pain?
Joseph ends up serving Potiphar. Potiphar’s wife demands the young and attractive Joseph have an affair with her. He denies her, and Joseph ends up thrown in prison, hated by both Potiphar and his wife.
God still follows him.
“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keepers of the prison… And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”
He's respected and given more responsibility than the other prisoners. He helps the chief cupbearer get out of prison—and the cupbearer forgets about Joseph. Two. Whole. Years. Pass.
Finally, the cupbearer remembers Joseph. He gets him out of prison by telling Pharaoh he could interpret his dreams. Joseph explains how Egypt will have 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine, and he helps Egypt prepare for this impending famine. So Pharoah uses Joseph and exalts him to the highest position in his kingdom.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Throughout his entire story—which spans years—we never see Joseph lose his cool. We don't see him freak out in the prison or complain to God.
In fact, Joseph is the complete opposite. He is steady, he is faithful, he is true.
God is with him in all that he does. Joseph reflects the steadfastness of God, and he’s a symbol of the Messiah to come. He shows what it truly looks like to have unwavering faith that isn’t disturbed by feelings or situation. His example encourages me in this season where my belief falters. From the pit to the prison to the riches in the house of Pharaoh, Joseph walks with God.
What would it look like for us to walk with God, regardless of circumstance? What if we remembered God walks with us even when we don’t feel His presence? I think our lives would look quite different. Our feelings would become more steady. And our emotions would serve as a way to point us to God, not detract us from Him.
“Lord, give me steadfastness like Joseph, like the Father, like Jesus. Keep me steady, peaceful, grateful. Help me walk with You in every situation and season. I pray all these things in Your name. Amen.”
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.