Victory Playlist

When my wife was going through her cancer battle several years ago, we put together a playlist of songs to listen to every time we made the 30-minute trip to the cancer treatment center - it helped both of us get in the right frame of mind of faith and hopefulness on the way to whatever treatments she was going to have to endure that day. Now that I'm going down a similar road, we've come up with a playlist for me! Here it is on Spotify:

Hollow Grave

Let my soul arise
Let my heart awake
Let these empty lungs overflow with praise
I found all the life I need in a hollow grave 

It's only by the blood
Only by Your grace
All I see is love where nobody lays
I found all the life I need in a hollow grave

 

Isn't it amazing that through Christ's death we have been given life? I happened to be on worship team within a week or two of getting a cancer diagnosis, and singing this song was like rising up from the grave myself, filled with Jesus' life!

Prepare to Die

Prepare to die!
Cancer, prepare to die!
I've got a message from the God of whom you have defied!
You come against me with your weapons from hell,
And you come against me with your fearful evil spell,
But I come against you in the name of the God of the armies of Israel!
Prepare to die!
Prepare to die!

For the last time, you've come against me with your weapons from hell,
And you've come against me with your fearful evil spell,
But I come against you in the name of the God of the armies of Israel! 

Disease, hatred, jealousy
Enemies of the cross
Prepare to die

 

As I explained in my previous post, this song is absolutely not about a person dying... it is about the cancer dying! This song is really upbeat... it kind of gets me pumped!

Shackles (Praise You)

Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way 

But God has broken every chain, so LET! ME! GO! 

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You, I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains, now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You, I'm gonna praise You 

 

This one is actually one of the holdovers from my wife's list. I've always liked the original Mary Mary version, but when Mandisa screams LET! ME! GO! it just knocks it out of the park for me!

Miracle Maker

In the midst of our despair
When our hope is running dry
We lift our voices to the heavens
To the One who hears our cry
With a heart full of faith
We know He's always near
Every moment, every heartbeat
He wipes away our fear

Oh, the power in His name
Bringing life to broken frames

Miracle Maker, You heal the blind
Turning water into wine
Miracle Maker, You calm the sea
Setting every captive free
Miracle Maker, we believe
In Your love, we receive

 

This may be the newest song on this playlist, released by the oldest band, Petra. This is from the album Hope which they released just last January. If you haven't heard the album, do yourself a favor and listen to the whole thing! (Physical copy store link, or find it on all of the streaming services!)

Destined to Win

This song’s for all the people with light in their hearts and love in their eyes
You don’t have to worry when the mountain seems of infinite size
There is one who goes before you to calm the sea
And there’s a king who leads his people to victory

We are destined to win!
We’re surrounded by his love, guarded by his power,
Destined to win!
Following the Lord until the battle’s over,
We are destined to win!

 

A classic by DeGarmo & Key, and maybe among the short list of perfectly crafted Christian Rock songs of all time. Which of us doesn't need to be reminded from time to time that no matter what's going on, we have a destiny in Christ Jesus?

I Still Believe

I've been in a cave for forty days
With only a spark to light my way
I want to give out, I want to give in
This is our crime
This is our sin 

But I still believe
I still believe
Through the pain, and through the grief
Through the lies, through the storms
Through the cries and through the wars 

I still believe

 

Written by Michael Been, who was a believer, and first recorded by his mainstream band The Call, this is an amazing song about standing firm through adversity. I love every version of this song (another famous version was included in the movie The Lost Boys) but I prefer Russ Taff's energy for my playlist.

Take You At Your Word

I'll take You at Your word
If You said it, I'll believe it
I've seen how good it works
If You start it You'll complete it
I'll take You at Your word

 

Faith is way simpler than we make it out to be. It doesn't take a lot of effort. It just takes one decision to believe what God says. It's not like climbing a tree - it's like letting go of a low-hanging branch and dropping safely to the ground!

This Is Our God

Remember that fear that took our breath away?
Faith so weak that we could barely pray,
But He heard every word, every whisper.
Now those altars in the wilderness
Tell the story of His faithfulness - 
Never once did He fail, and He never will!

 

I also talked about this song in my previous post, so I won't repeat myself here.

I've Got Joy

I've got joy in the struggle
I've got peace in the storm
I've got strength in the battle
I don't fear anymore
I'm a child of heaven
And my hope is secure
I've got joy cause I've got Jesus

 

Another holdover from my wife's Victory Playlist, this one just reminds me of everything I have to be joyful about!

Great Are You Lord

You give life, You are love, You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

 

My wife suggested that we include Michael W. Smith's recording of this in the playlist. I love that he starts with "It's Your breath in our lungs..." When Jesus died, he took our death and gave us His life. Every breath we take is His breath.

Always Be There

I can count on You to always be there
And know that You will always be there
Every day You'll always be there with me, with me

 

This one is probably a curve ball for almost anyone but me! This is from a CD of VBS songs written and recorded by Yancy, who grew up right here in Tulsa. Sometimes I find that songs written about Jesus and recorded for kids have a quality that really speaks to me. Maybe that's because I've been involved as a volunteer children's minister for many years, or maybe I'm just an overgrown kid myself! But this song reminds me of what we always need to remember: God will never leave us, and He will never forsake us.

Givin' Up Givin' Up

I gotta stop kickin' myself around
Swimmin' in a pool of pity
I'm gonna pick myself up off the ground
And get back to the nitty gritty 

Well, it's one step, two steps
And then I'm back on my way
Sittin' around has just been gettin' me down
And that's why I just have to say that

I'm givin' up givin' up
I'll never give up again
I'm givin' up givin' up
And hangin' on till the end

 

Bryan Duncan is a ridiculously talented musician, and this song is just a lot of fun while it reminds you that you can't give up! I haven't been tempted to give up on fighting this fight of faith, but when hard times come, sometimes it helps to have a lighthearted little reminder to leave your pity party in the past and get back to what really matters!

If God Is For Us (Who Can Be Against Us)

If you're weary, don't lose hope in fighting the good fight
Just remember, God is with you through your darkest night
In the heat of battle, keep your head up high
God is marching with us
He's always at our side

If God is for us, who can be against us?
No power on earth can take His love away
If God is for us, who can be against us
We can live in victory today

 

DeGarmo & Key made the list twice! This line from Romans 8:31 is something every believer in Jesus should hang their hat on. Just remember: that "if" isn't a question. Read the context in Romans: there's no "if" about it. God IS for you!

Don't Look Back

I finally see the dawn arrivin'
I see beyond the road I'm drivin'

It's a bright horizon, ooh, and I'm awaken
I see myself in a brand new way
The sun is shinin', ooh, the clouds are breakin'
'Cause I can't lose now, there's no game to play

 

Wait, a Boston song on the playlist? Yes! This song is absolutely, 100% about leaving behind something that was keeping the singer down, and it doesn't have anything specific to do with God at all. But when you're in the middle of a storm, it's good to keep your eyes on the prize and not look back at, say, the initial prognosis of how long people live with the condition you're in, or famous people who have died from it, or whatever. Keep your eyes forward and trust in Jesus! This song just has such great energy, it was just the right way to close out the playlist.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about these songs! I love them all, and I hope you check any out that you're not familiar with!