Words of Worship: Commitment

commitment (noun) - an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; something pledged; the state or instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled

Synonyms: adhesion, constancy, dedication, faith, loyalty, piety, steadfastness, troth

Antonyms: disloyalty, faithlessness, inconstancy, perfidiousness, treachery, unfaithfulness

Commitment has been a theme on my mind for several weeks now during the continuing COVID pandemic, the upcoming election season here in the U.S., and the encroaching holiday season. Even though many states ended their mandated stay at home orders months ago, it still feels like people have a hard time remembering how to be people around other people. As someone who works really hard to be a normal person around other people 100% of the time, I started praying over this post quite a while back when I decided on its theme so that God would give me the words He wanted me to share. I actually shared some of them with my home church last weekend at a special evening service we had, and I'd like to share them again now.

We should strive to be as loyal to our commitment to God as He is in his commitment to us. He is eternally faithful and will never let us down. In the times that we slip up and fall, He forgives us when we ask and always holds us in His hands to keep us safe. He's never broken a single promise or covenant He's made with His people, even though as humans we break promises both with Him and each other with alarming regularity. I doubt that I'm the only believer who's felt compelled during this weird season to strengthen their commitment to God, so if you are also in that boat, I hope these songs help inspire you to make whatever change you need to make in order to realign yourself back in your walk with God.

All Scriptures are taken from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.

In Jesus' Name by Darlene Zschech (written by I. Houghton, D. Zschech)

My favorite version of this song is featured on former Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech's 2013 live album Revealing Jesus, and to my "knowledge" (THIS IS A JOKE, PLEASE DON'T COME AT ME) it may be tied with Elevation's Only King Forever as having the world's longest intro music and instrumental sections within the actual song. All joking aside, I really love this song. It's upbeat, it's motivating, and it tells the wonderful truth that God fights our battles for us and that He makes us alive and free in the name of His Son.

God is fighting for us, God is on our side/He has overcome, yes, He has overcome/We will not be shaken, we will not be moved/Jesus, You are here, oh/Carrying our burdens, covering our shame/He has overcome, yes, He has overcome/We will not be shaken, we will not be moved/Jesus, You are here/I will live, I will not die, the resurrection power of Christ/Alive in me, and I am free in Jesus' name

Psalm 118:17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.

Available by Elevation Worship (written by B. Fielding, C. Brown, J. Ingram, M. Redman, S. Furtick)

This is a newer release from Elevation, featured on their 2020 live album Graves into Gardens. I'm a big fan of the entire album (more on that in a few weeks), and this song is no exception. It's one of the longer ones on the album (just under 10 minutes in length) and has vocals by Tiffany Hammer, who does a phenomenal job leading this song. Just as He is available for us, we are also to be available for Him.

Narrow as the road may seem/I'll follow where your Spirit leads/Broken as my life may be/I will give You every piece/I hear You call/I am available/I say, "Yes, Lord"/I am available

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Another in the Fire by Hillsong UNITED (written C. Davenport, J. Houston)

One of my favorite tracks from UNITED's 2019 live album People, Another in the Fire is a really beautiful song evoking imagery from Daniel 6. With vocals from worship leader Chris Davenport, the song recognizes the awareness that we will need reminding from time to time that we are not perfect and need to lean on God, who is in the fire right along beside us.

All my debt left for dead beneath the waters/I'm no longer a slave to my sin anymore/And should I fall in the space between what remains of me and this reckoning/Either way, I won't bow to the things of the world/And I know I will never be alone/There is another in the fire standing next to me/There is another in the waters, holding back the seas/And should I ever need reminding what power set me free/There is a grave that holds no body, and now that power lives in me/There is another in the fire, oh/There is another in the fire, oh/There is another in the fire, oh/There is another in the fire, oh

Psalm 118:6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

Even When It Hurts (Praise Song) by Hillsong UNITED (written by J. Houston)

I first heard this song about a year and a half ago and immediately fell in love with it. My favorite version is on UNITED's live 2016 album Of Dirt and Grace (Live from the Land), which was a reimagining of their 2015 album Empires and recorded live in Israel. With lead vocals by the incomparable Taya Smith, this song is super emotional for myself and many others I know, and includes its own prayer of commitment to God in its choruses.

Take this fainted heart/Take these tainted hands/Wash me in your love/Come like grace again/Even when my strength is lost, I'll praise You/Even when I have no song, I'll praise You/Even when it's hard to find the words, louder then I'll sing Your praise/I will only sing Your praise

Psalm 42:5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again - my Savior...

Wonder by Hillsong UNITED (written by J. Houston, M. Crocker)

Our third and final UNITED piece on the list, I got very familiar with this song last Christmas season. Featured on their 2017 album Wonder with lead vocals by Matt Crocker, it's a great listen not just for the holiday season but all year long. It's a joyous declaration of walking in the way and light of the Lord.

Have you ever seen the wonder/In the glimmer of first sight/As the eyes begin to open/And the blindness meets the light/If you have so, say/I see the world in light, I see the world in wonder/I see the world in life, bursting in living color/I see the world Your way, and I'm walking in the light

Matthew 18:3 Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven."

All My Life by Hillsong Young & Free (written by H. Hobbs, R. Sieff, B. Than, B. Benjamin-Korporaal)

2020 may have been a giant turd as a whole, but it's given us some pretty good worship music despite everything else. Featured on Young & Free's 2020 live album All Of My Best Friends, I loved this song immediately. The chorus is another prayer of commitment to praising the Father with all that we have as well as an acknowledgement of His commitment to us.

I've been lost and found/Been close and far away/But my confidence is this/Your love won't stop its chase/All my life, I will lift up Your praises/'Til the end of the ages, I'll sing of Your love/Your love won't stop, oh, it runs like a river/You have so freely given every piece of Your heart

Psalm 63:3-5 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.

The Lord Our God by Passion ft. Kristian Stanfill (written by J. Ingram, K. Stanfill)

The closer song on our commitment playlist comes from Passion's 2013 live album Let the Future Begin. Led by the one and only Kristian Stanfill, this track is SO good and uplifting. The lyrics are full of promise in who God is and what He's capable of, along with a promise from us that we will declare His greatness forever.

Promise Maker, Promise Keeper/You finish what You begin/Our provision through the desert/You see it through 'til the end/You see it through 'til the end/The Lord our God is ever faithful/Never changing through the ages/From this darkness, You will lead us/And forever, we will say You're the Lord our God

Psalm 9:10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

This week is carrying a lot on its shoulders, but God already knows how it's going to turn out and that it will all be for His glory no matter what. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!