Singing with Discernment: A Biblical Worship Review of ‘Waymaker’

Looking at Waymaker's lyrics to see if they align with Biblical worship does not take long. There are only a few lines in the whole song, each repeated over and over again. For reference, here are the lyrics as they appear online.

Verse 1:

You are here

Moving in our midst

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Working in this place

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Moving in our midst

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Working in this place

I worship you

I worship you

Chorus:

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Verse 2:

You are here

Touching every heart

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Healing every heart

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Turning lives around

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Mending every heart

I worship you

I worship you

Chorus:

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

That is who you are

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Verse 3:

You wipe away all tears

You mend the broken heart

You're the answer to it all

Jesus

You wipe away all tears

You mend the broken heart

You're the answer to it all (to it all)

Jesus

Chorus:

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Verse 4:

You are here

Touching every life

I worship you

I worship you

You are here

Meeting every need

I worship you

I worship you

And here are the lyrics again, with the repeated lines removed:

Verse 1:

You are here

Moving in our midst

Working in this place

I worship you

Chorus:

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

Verse 3:

You wipe away all tears

You mend the broken heart

You're the answer to it all

Jesus

Verse 4:

You are here

Touching every life

Meeting every need

I worship you

My God

That is who you are

Verse 2:

You are here

Touching every heart

Healing every heart

Turning lives around

Mending every heart

I worship you

Are you shocked at how little this song is actually saying? Over 70% of the song is repeated lines.

The first verse declares that God (You) is here.

He is with his people, within their gathering, among them. When we think about God’s presence with us, it’s easy to first think of Matthew 18:20, where Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” While this is true in a worship service, this verse deals with the Christian’s response to a brother or sister who has sinned against them. This verse is about God’s presence in the case of a small group of Christians agreeing to remove an unrepentant brother from their gathering. While this verse does teach us that God is present with us, it’s not the best Biblical support for God’s presence in a worship gathering. David teaches us in Psalm 139:1-10 that God knows every move we make, he understands our thoughts, and we cannot go anywhere without His Spirit. We cannot flee from his presence. So, to say that God is here, with us as we worship, is true. We ought to praise God for his presence, confessing and standing in awe of his closeness, like that of a brother (Psalm 18:24). He is a God near at hand, not one that is far off (Jeremiah 23:23-24).

Verse 1 says that while he is here, he is moving and working; moving in our midst and working in this place.

It does not specify how he is moving or the kind of work he is doing. While these statements are vague, they are faithful to the God of Scripture. God moves and works in ways we can see and understand and in ways that are so much higher than ours that we cannot yet comprehend them (Isaiah 55:9). We could turn to almost any passage of Scripture and see the movement, the work, and power of God unfolding as his plan for history has been revealed. We know that here, in the church age, as we live in the finished work of Jesus and await his return, he is a work. He is moving in the power of his Spirit as he equips and grows his people, the Church. He works through us. He gave us the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in him, and through the power of the Spirit, he equips us for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Each verse says, I worship you.

This simple praise is an act of obedience to the many times scripture teaches us to worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness (Psalm 96:9), worship at his footstool (Psalm 99:5), or let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28).

The chorus calls God by four titles, declaring, My God, that is who you are, meaning those titles are his. Each title is a biblically accurate way to praise and honor the God of Scripture.

Way Maker:

• Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19).

• Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

• Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart full of assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Miracle Worker:

• If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father (John 10:37-38).

• Men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know…(Acts 2:22)

• …while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:4).

Promise Keeper:

• He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations…(Psalm 105:8. The rest of his chapter elaborates on the promises to Israel that God kept.)

• And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments…(Nehemiah 1:5).

• Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring…And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:16a, 29)

Light in the Darkness:

• O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:5).

• In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:4-5)

• For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:8, 14)

Verse 2 returns to a declaration that God is here. In this verse, he is touching, healing, mending every heart, and turning lives around.

In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to restore his people and give them new hearts. He will remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. He will put his Spirit within them and cause them to walk in his statutes and be careful to obey his rules. This promise to his people is fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection, in the gift of the Holy Spirit sent to renew and restore. Paul explains that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” and “...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17). Verse 2 reflects, although vaguely, the truth of a renewed heart by the work of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the third verse (verses three or four may be classified as a bridge, but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll call them verses), he wipes away all tears and is the answer to it all. In the fourth verse, he is touching every life and meeting every need. A few other lines from these two verses are variations of lines from verse 2.

While we are not promised an easy or pain-free life on this earth, we rejoice in the promise that God will wipe away every tear and end all suffering when we dwell with him in eternity (Revelation 21:4). This line in the song hopefully points toward that coming promise with hope, and not to a false hope of an easy Christian life (John 16:33). Jesus truly is the answer to it all. He is the answer to every struggle with sin, every doubt and worry, and every trial and pain we have on this earth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). Finally, he meets every need in a way that only God can. He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). His provision means we have no need to worry because he feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field, both of which are of less value than us (Matthew 6:34). Everything we need is available in him, and he has given us himself.

Final thoughts: This song says things that are true and right to sing to our God, our Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, from a heart of praise. However, it is very vague. God moves and works, mends and heals, touches and turns the hearts and lives of his people. He makes a way, performs miracles, keeps his promises, and is the light in the darkness. These things are true. But he does them by the power of the Holy Spirit through the sinless life, debt-paying death, and death-defeating resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God. The vagueness of these statements leaves room for poor interpretations of how God moves and acts. While the lines are well-supported by biblical truth, a false teacher could easily fit these lyrics into another narrative. This song has no red flags, but loses half a star for vagueness and another half for wearisome repetition.

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Michael Anthony Oluwole / Okoro Osinachi Kalu Way Maker lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music, Songtrust Ave