Why Youth Should Sing "Is He Worthy?"

“Do you feel the world is broken?” Is there anyone who can say “no” to this opening line of Andrew Peterson’s song “Is He Worthy?” We all feel it. Something isn’t right. The world seems to broken. We seem to be broken. Whether you believe in God or not, it’s difficult to keep from admitting that there is brokenness all around us. The Fall is so real you can touch it. And this is not merely a question of, “Are there bad things in the world?” This is an existential question that digs deep into our hearts and makes us wonder, “Were we meant for something more?”

Songwriters Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive have graced the church with fantastic and beautiful music over the past two decades, but I think their song “Is He Worthy” from Peterson’s 2018 album “Resurrection Letters, Vol. 1” is about as good as it gets. It’s written as a call and response with every line of the verses posing a question followed by a collective answer (i.e. “We do,” “It is,” “He does”). Not only are the lyrics and melody beautiful, they are also helpful which is, I believe, one of the most important elements of a worship song.

“Is He Worthy” gives words to the questions everyone feels deep down on their souls, especially teenagers—“Do you know that all the dark won’t stop the light from getting through?” When you hear your friends and community and church around you answer that question by singing, “We do” with heartfelt resolution, you fall back into the faith that reminds you that you’re not alone: “This shadow,” as J.R.R. Tolkien said, “is a small and passing thing.”

Teenagers need to hear themselves ask these hard questions out loud. What’s more, they need to hear themselves and their friends answer these questions the way the Bible does. They need to know that all the idols they bow to, day in and day out, are not worthy of their worship. They need to ask the hard question, “Is there anyone who is worthy?” And they need to hear what the Apostle John recorded in Revelation 5 when no one in heaven or on earth was found to be worthy: “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…Then I looked, and I heard around the throne…the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’”

Jesus is worthy. No one else is. But Jesus is worthy of our love, devotion, adoration and worship. And when we sing this truth, we not only join the voices of those around us, we join the voices of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands. We join the heavenly anthem.

The hard questions asked and answered in this song remind youth that there is One they can worship who will satisfy their desires and fulfill their deepest longings. This song also reminds them they are not alone. They are not the first ones to ask these questions. They will not be the last. Together, with the saints and the angels, we get the privilege of proclaiming the worth of our King.

Revelation 5:13 – “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’”

Amen.

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This guest post was written by Wadestone Client, Joe Deegan. To learn more about Joe and RYM worship visit joedeeganmusic.com or www.rym.org/worship.