My favorite songs I've featured over the past 11 years of interviewing artists in Christian music and writing these behind the song devotionals have often been the songs that God gives to the artists; they're always the songs that move me the most personally. Having featured over 50 songs in 2018, these are my top 10 favorite behind the song devotionals of 2018. I’d love to know your favorites and how the biblical messages behind these songs speak to you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
1.“Is He Worthy” by Andrew Peterson. The song is an emotive and poetic description of what Jesus did for us. The enemy is real, and our best defense against his desire to destroy us is to cry out the victorious words of songs like "Is He Worthy" and know that our Redeemer has saved us from death, forever. No matter where you are in your walk with Jesus, this song is a salvation message that helps us remember that Jesus came to die, defeated death and rose again to set us free. This song encourages me and is one of the most inspirational songs I've ever heard. What an exciting thought that all suffering and hurt will be left behind, and one day glory will be revealed in us through Christ. For the believer, for eternity we will be singing "Is He worthy? Of all blessing and honor and glory, is He worthy? Is He worthy of this? He is!"
2. “Down Down Low” by Christa Wells.Opening track "Down Down Low" is an engaging song, with Christa's passionate vocals setting the tone for this exceptional album. The song is an unashamed declaration observing that "everybody wants to talk, nobody wants to listen." Christa hooked me with the lyrics in the bridge "hear the whisper of humility, love will write a sweeter melody," which is essentially the thesis statement of this redemptive, personal and moving album. The song is so spot-on with its observations of how we live and hurt others with our lack of love. My prayer for this song is that all of us can make these the words we live by. This song both musically and lyrically, has an empowering message and feel. In our society filled with wars, bullying and a lack of care for others, this anthem is the cry of my heart with the much-needed call to action message for Christians, "hear the whisper of humility, love will write a sweeter melody."
3. “Drawn To You” by Audrey Assad. I sing this song to God in my daily worship and devotional time, bowing my heart to Him. There are several truths we can cling to in this song's lyrics. God is full of compassion, and His mercies are new every morning. You can sincerely pray these words along with Audrey. God is omnipresent and always with us, and we are never too far beyond His reach. "Drawn to You" is one of my favorite songs of the year. Right from the lyrics, "No clear emotions keeping me safe at night, only Your presence, like a candle light," I find myself praying and singing along with this amazing song as it expresses a deep desire that many people have, which is to proclaim: "After everything I've had, after everything I've lost, Lord, I know this much is true, I'm still drawn to You."
4. “Who You Say I Am” by Hillsong Worship. As this song proclaims, "You are for me, not against me." You can rest upon the Scripture: "If our God is for us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31). Nothing can separate us from His love. For the Son has risen, and sin and death are conquered. "Who You Say I Am" is filled with great statements of faith, celebrating our freedom in Christ: "Who the Son sets free, Oh is free indeed, I'm a child of God, Yes, I am, In my Father's house, There's a place for me, I'm a child of God, Yes, I am." This is a great message and song for us to celebrate our freedom based on our faith in Christ Jesus. Make the lyrics of this bridge your prayer: "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."
5. “Only My Jesus” by Alisa Turner. Followers can sing every word and agree with the beautiful sentiments of this great tune. I was immediately hooked by the emotional and prayerful tone of this song. "Only My Jesus" is a sincere offering of praise back to the Lord and to express our desire to seek His face, feel His peace and hear His voice. Jesus loves us so much; He came down and took our punishment so that we can be with Him forever. He wants to give us life and never let us go. That's something worth singing about.
6. “Beautifully Broken” by Plumb. I'm extremely moved by the passion behind the lyrics speaking of how we think we are never good enough, yet Jesus saw something beautiful in us worth dying for. This song and the biblical truth behind the song is such an encouraging reminder of God's sovereignty and that He has been, is, and always will be with us. If God is with us, we can endure anything. This song is also about submitting all of your worries, anxieties, and stress to God and letting Him be your guide. God wants to walk beside you, and He wants us to be bold and unafraid by acknowledging that, "You're beautifully broken, and you can be whole again. Even a million scars don't change whose you are, you're worthy, beautifully broken."
7. "Song in My Soul" by Phil Wickham.This song gives me a lot of joy, and my heartbeat is to please the Lord. I love songs that allow me to have fun and praise God at the same time, and this song certainly does that. I really enjoy how my love of fun, uplifting music and biblical truth is perfectly married in this song. The song is also a great reminder that our circumstances don't define our joy. Our position in Christ and His unending faithfulness is worthy of all our gratitude and adoration. A sincere desire to experience the presence of God can be heard in this instant classic song. You’ll want to exclaim: “Let my life be to You a symphony / Singin' out "holy, holy" / All my days / Every single breath I breathe / Singin' out "holy, You are holy!"
8.“No Other” by For All Seasons. The message of this song challenges listeners to think about our own doubts and how Jesus calls us to rely on Him and the power of His resurrection, to remember that He has overcome death, fear and strongholds in our lives. Name them and sing to Him, "I can see strongholds coming down. I can see Jesus reaching out, reaching out." His love is never-ending, and He is our refuge and our strength. God's ultimate will is to restore us so that we may experience His unfailing love and know that He is Lord over all. I love singing this song to Jesus and telling Him, "By Your blood, all things are made new, All my chains breaking free, Miracles still happening, Nothing is impossible with You!"
9. “Rescuer” by Rend Collective. Rend Collective has written another great anthem for the Church that reminds us that under our own strength, many obstacles we face will seem impossible, but with God all things are possible. The same goes for salvation. We can't earn Heaven. It's only through complete surrender to Jesus and putting all of our hope in Him that we can we be saved. This song is a great reminder of that biblical truth. I find myself praying and singing along with this amazing song as it expresses deep desires that many people have. As Christians, we all can loudly proclaim: "He's our Rescuer, He's our Rescuer, we are free from sin forevermore, oh, how sweet the sound, oh, how grace abounds, we will praise the Lord, our Rescuer!"
10.“Witness” by Jordan Feliz. There's two ways we can apply "can I get a witness" in our lives: we can say yes to God's calling, and then we can preach the Gospel and witness about Him and what He has done in our lives. Living in fear, worry and anxiety is not God's plan for us as His children. His Word tells us, "do not fear," "do not worry," "cast your cares" and has many other reminders about how God wants to take our thoughts captive and trust in Him and His plans for us. The Scripture references about Abraham's faith has really spoken to me personally the past few years as I've also had to live out the journey of stepping out in faith and trusting in God's plans. I can attest that although it can be scary, it is an exciting journey to live for Him. Sing along wholeheartedly: "You love is like a fountain, it'll never run dry, it'll never run dry. Your love is moving mountains, every day of my life, every day of my life, can I get a witness?"
NRT Lead Contributor Kevin Davis is a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.
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