Hard Fought Hallelujah

Armando examines the hit new single by Brandon Lake.

[Verse 1]
Yeah, I don't always feel it
But that's when I need it the most
So I'ma keep on singing
'Til my soul catches up with my song
There's times when my hands go up freely
And times that it costs
There's days when a praise comes out easy
And days when it takes all the strength I've got

[Chorus]
I'll bring my hard-fought heartfelt
Been-through-hell hallelujah
I'll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail
Story to tell hallelujah
God, You've been patient
God, You've been gracious
Faithful whatever I'm feeling or facing
So I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt
It is well hallelujah
Woah-oh-oh-oh

Hallelujah, hallelujah

[Verse 2]
I've wrestled with the darkness
But I'm trying to reach for the light
Yeah, the struggle keeps me honest
And it breaks down the walls of my pride
'Cause faith isn't proven like gold
'Til it's been through the fire
Yeah, yeah
My head, heart and hands are feeling heavy
And that's when I lift them just a little higher

[Chorus]
I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, been-through-hell hallelujah
I'll bring my storm-tossed, torn sail, story-to-tell hallelujah
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh
God, You've been patient
God, You've been gracious
Faithful whatever I'm feeling or facing
I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh
Hallelujah, hallelujah

[Bridge]
Mmmm, yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-woah
Woah-oh-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh-woah
Oh-oh-oh-woah

[Chorus]
I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, been-through-hell hallelujah
I'll bring my storm-tossed, torn sail, story-to-tell hallelujah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-woah
God, You've been patient
God, You've been gracious
Faithful whatever I'm feeling or facing
So I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah
Oh, hallelujah

I need to start with an admission. I have not listened to Christian radio for years. I find it hard to listen to because I could hear the same song twice or thrice every hour.

Photo by Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash

Some of the songs I do not like. The words make me cringe. I find it hard to worship. I have written in the past that we should pay close attention to the words we sing. I also think it is important not to go too far when criticizing what one chooses to listen to and sing.

However, I do think there is a proclivity for Christians to settle for songs that make them feel good. I want to highlight one today. With that, I know I will likely lose some people reading this post as they will not like that I am criticizing a Christian “worship” song. I understand, but I hope you will bear with me and I aim to be fair.

My main issue with this song is that it aims to communicate something and misses the mark. I believe the writer wants to communicate that life can be hard, and yet we can praise God anyway. This is a worthy and good sentiment. There have been countless worship and Christian songs that have aimed to communicate this. However, I believe Lake misses the mark on two main fronts.

While, I do not believe this was his goal, Lake’s song emphasizes a “pull your self up by your bootstraps” and keep going type of faith. Lake emphasizes our wrestling, our struggles, and our striving toward the light. He has one line where he mentions God’s patience and grace in our weakness but one leaves the song feeling like “yea I made it through…. Thank God for His patience.”

Life is hard. The Christian life can be even harder, considering the world, our flesh, and the Devil are against us. We must fight, we must combat, we must suffer. However, none of our struggle is in our strength. If it is, it always leads to sin. Anything not done by faith (reliance and belief in Christ and His promises) is sin. When we look back at our struggle, every hard fight was with our own sin. Our own selfishness. Our own demands of an easier and better life from God. Only when we surrendered did we have peace amid the struggle. Lake claimed he would “Keep on singing 'Til my soul catches up with my song.” Until our soul catches up to the Hallelujah God deserves in every trial, every trial is hard fought. When the Christian life is about how hard we fight instead of how Jesus fights for us, how the Spirit strengthens us, how the Father cares for us, every burden is heavy.

This leads to my second issue. Evangelicalism has morphed into feelings over faith culture. Where our feelings are validated and our lack of faith is excused. Lake’s line “I'll bring my hard-fought heartfelt Been-through-hell hallelujah” will be their new anthem. I know many readers love this song and this line. However, none of us have been through Hell. Nothing in this life is as painful as having the wrath of God being poured out on us for all of eternity. I know its an expression. But it is an expression based on a true reality that if we allow ourselves to believe, we are wrong. Nothing in this life, no miscarriages, no losses, no suffering, no autism, is as bad as the actual Hell that I deserve because of my sin. The only person that has been through Hell in this life is Jesus. On the cross, He drank the full cup of God’s wrath (Hell is God’s wrath being poured out on a sinner) for me and all who believe. Any suffering, any pain in this life is not worth comparing to the actual Hell that Jesus took on for me.

That is the reason why I can sing Hallelujah in any season. Because He died for me, not because I fight for Him.