Worthy of every song we could ever sing
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe
We live for You, we live for You
Jesus, the name above every other name
Jesus, the only one who could ever save
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe
We live for You, we live for You
Holy, there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder
And show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken
(Performed by Housefires/Written by Pat Barrett)
I’ll be honest with you, friends. I was unimpressed by this song when I first heard it. It seemed like just another slow-tempo, bridge-heavy ballad that was going to get a lot of radio attention for 6 months and then lose its luster. I initially enjoyed the verses and chorus, but was sorta neutral on the bridge. In case you’re unfamiliar, the bridge is the centerpiece of the song and the title is taken from its lyric. I wrote it off as “eh” and went back to listening to ‘Reckless Love’ on repeat instead.
But ‘Build My Life’ never left my radar. It kept resurfacing in conversation, on Spotify playlists, and in my “Recommended to Watch” YouTube videos. I took the hint and scheduled it for First Friday Prayer night in October. It finally hit me loud and clear upon singing it and hearing it sung by our community at GENESIS. The power of this song isn’t dependent on the repeatability and build of the bridge - it’s in the chorus! The bridge may be the anthem, but the chorus is the order and declaration of true, daily worship.
There’s such depth here! I believe God wants us to sing this, not because it’s a beautiful melody or a super-charged anthem, but because it’s giving us the blueprint for worship in song form.
Holy, there is no one like you/there is none beside you
Our acknowledgement of who God is and our adoration of Him for who He is.
Open up my eyes in wonder/show me who You are
Our request to see, feel, and understand more of Him
Fill me with your heart
Our desire to be transformed by the Spirit within us and to become like Him
Lead me in your love to those around me
Our extension to others of the grace we’ve been given.
Don’t miss the importance of this progression. It reminds me that worship is not just singing corporately. Rather, worship is the mental assent of God’s kingship, the humbled and surrendered heart, the transformation of self by the Spirit, and the acts of giving to others what you’ve received from Christ. We sing this, yes, but we also LIVE it.
Let’s be a church that lives worship, GENESIS. If you don’t know where to start, sing this song. Imprint these words into your memory and onto your heart. Give God space to bring them to life in you. Worship will come. It’ll come.
