Josh Baldwin

Is ‘Made For More’ Biblical? A Worship Song Analysis

/ Jason Henry / 1 Comment

I listened to “Made For More” a couple times earlier this year, and I liked it alright, but it didn’t really grab my attention until we sang it at ICYC this weekend. I grew up attending this conference, so it was a neat full-circle moment to be able to come back and play keys in the worship band. Looking out over the students and singing this song, I found myself moved to prayer for them, that they would see that God has made them for more and that they would be raised to new life and new purpose in Jesus.

Josh Baldwin released “Made For More” as a live single featuring Jenn Johnson in January of this year. It has continued to grow in popularity since then, being featured on a single and album from Bethel and accruing over 8,000,000 Spotify streams in its various forms as of November 2024. Baldwin is a songwriter on the track, along with Blake Wiggins, Jessie Early (Nothing Else), and Jonathan Smith (House of the Lord, Glorious Day, Manger Throne).

You and I might be made for more, but is “Made For More” made for worship? Let’s dig in and see if “Made For More” is biblical and if it belongs on your Sunday setlist.

Focus

“Made For More” is about our identity, calling, and purpose, all found in Christ’s death and resurrection. It is both an encouragement and a call to action.

There is a lot of “I” and “my” in this song. I don’t think “Made For More” is self-centered, but it is individualistic. I’ll address both of those below.

We sing this song to God and address him as “You.” The reference to the “cross of salvation” makes it clear that we’re singing to the Christian God, not just any random deity.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE
The first line is the thesis of the whole song; “I know who I am cause I know who You are.” As believers, our identity is in Jesus. Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come,” and again in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” When we become Christians, we join Jesus in his death on the cross and are raised with him to new life. Christ identifies so closely with his church that we are called his body and his dwelling place (Eph 1:22-23, 2:22).

This verse declines to look back to our lost state before the cross, instead focusing on who we are now: chosen (1 Pet 2:9), free (Jn 8:36), forgiven (Ac 10:43), having a future worth living (Jer 29:11). This future is both now and not yet. Yes, we have a glorious eternity to look forward to in the new heaven and new earth that are to come (Rev 21:1-4), but we are also Jesus’ emissaries, witnesses that Christ has come to reconcile the world and that his kingdom is already here! Empowered by his Spirit, we carry this reconciliation with us and provide a foretaste to the world and the whole creation of what the glory of God’s fully realized kingdom will be like (Ac 1:8, 2 Cor 5:18-19, Rom 8:19-23).

CHORUS
In the first two lines of the chorus, I think the songwriters must have been thinking of Luke 9:57-62. Three different people are called to follow Jesus but present various excuses, one of them saying, “let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus replies, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” I don’t know the ins and outs of Jewish funeral customs, and someone else could certainly explain this story better than I, but it seems clear that all three people in this passage are looking back at their old life, finding excuses to remain trapped in the past rather than following Jesus into the new life of his kingdom.

Again, when we follow Jesus, we are baptized into his death and raised to new life with him. We can’t walk in our old, dead ways anymore because we have been born again (Rom 6:2-4).

The verse says this in yet a third way: instead of lying in a bed of shame, we have the opportunity to embrace the fountain of forgiveness, holiness, and grace that flows from Jesus (Zech 13:1). This grace not only give us life, but overflows from us to give life to others (Jn 7:38).

One thing that catches my attention in the chorus is that all the statements about “me” are in the passive voice. (🤓) Instead of “You made me for more,” it’s “I was made for more.” Is Josh trying to take God out of the picture? Why put the emphasis on me instead of God?? In fact, that’s the opposite of what’s going on here. The rhythm and melody place the emphasis on the third syllable of the line, so if we rephrase this line to make God the subject, then the word “me” actual falls on the third syllable and gets the emphasis. “You made me for more.” The way the song is written, it’s “I was made for more,” so the musical emphasis is on God’s act of making. The same is true of “I was called by name.”

BRIDGE
“Hallelujah” is a Hebrew word combining hallel, praise, with Jah, a shortened form of the name of God. It literally means “praise Yahweh.”

Jesus makes a habit of calling his followers by name. Mary, Peter, Zacchaeus, and even Paul/Saul experience the direct, personal attention of the Savior when he says their names. This interaction is transformative, totally changing the direction of their lives. To be called by name is to be known, and God certainly knows us deeply and fully (Psalm 139:1-16). When he brings us into his kingdom, we are not anonymous servants, but we are his children, heirs, and friends (Jn 15:15, Rom 8:17).

How can we respond to this love, this knowing, and this calling but with praise? And having died to sin and been resurrected with Christ, how can we turn back and live in sin and the shame of our past? (Rom 6:2)

Accessibility

Even without knowledge of the Scriptures referenced in the song, the powerful word pictures in “Made For More” invite the worshiper into the new identity, new life, and new purpose of the children of God.

I have two concerns regarding understanding. First, this song is pretty vague about what we were made for. More, yes, but more of what? We get some suggestive words like life, future, grace, praise, and Yours, and together, they sketch an outline of what new life in Christ feels like, but without an understanding of our purpose and mission from Scripture, we can fill that outline in with any dream or aspiration we like. Made for more…money? Nope.

Second, the language in this song is very individualistic. Our individual relationships with God are important, and we are each of us known and called personally, but our calling as a community, as the church is at least equally important. This isn’t necessarily a weakness, I just want to make sure that we aren’t only singing songs about our individual lives; we also need songs that discuss our calling, purpose, and identity as the unified Bride of Christ.

The majority of the melody is within a sixth. When you include the octave jump from the first verse and chorus to the second, the total range is an octave plus a third, so not bad for a contemporary worship song. Rhythmically, the chorus is especially easy to pick up on because of the way the words pulse easily with the beat.

Music

“Made For More” begins with simple piano chords accompanying the voices through the first verse. The rest of the band enters quietly at the first chorus, playing single chords that have the effect of unity and confidence. We jump up to a higher dynamic level for the second verse, now celebrating the words that we sang in quiet faith the first time. What was an expression of hope in the first chorus is now fully claimed as the truth of who we are. We drop back down for a slow build through the bridges which lead to a dramatic dropout for a chorus, really highlighting the voice of the congregation. There’s another loud chorus, then a loud bridge, then a quiet closing chorus. These are pretty standard dynamics for a worship song, but they are standard for a reason, and they communicate this song’s message well.

The only tricky chords are halfway through the post-bridge chorus when the band comes in. There’s a walkdown there that sounds best if it’s played with open 5ths rather than full chords. The rest of the song makes use of frequent alternate bass notes and suspended chords so that it feels a little more interesting than a I, IV, vi, V song.

I would call this an easy-intermediate song for a worship band to play.

Conclusions

“Made For More” is catchy, inviting, easy to learn, and easy to understand. It is both an encouragement to the downcast and a call-to-action for believers. As we sing, God reminds us that we are his dearly loved children, and his Spirit calls us out on mission. If we are made for more, we must take seriously the words and deeds that Christ calls us to; we must be the foretaste of his coming kingdom in this broken world.

I outlined above my two concerns above in the Accessibility section: this song is a little vague about what we are made for, leaving room to import wrong ideas, and it is very individualistic. Neither of these is an error, and no song can fully explain every subject that it touches on. We need to make sure that our song libraries contain more specific calls to share the Gospel, care for the poor, sick, and elderly, and be good news to our friends, neighbors, communities, and the whole world. We also need to make sure we have songs that sing about us and Jesus instead of only me and Jesus.

Having said all that, I think “Made For More” fills an important niche in our church song catalog. The vagueness that I mentioned as a concern is also a strength, allowing it to serve as a sending song connected to any number of scriptural calls to action. It provides encouragement and exhortation without assuming anyone’s emotional state or life story, and it reminds all of us that we have new life in Christ, and that it’s worth living that way.

Will it worship? You betcha.

Image by Courtney Cook on Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

STAND IN YOUR LOVE – Bethel Music, Josh Baldwin, Rita Springer

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Joshua Earle from Unsplash

“Stand in Your Love,” would be at home anywhere. You could play it in an arena, in a church big or small, or gathered around a campfire at night. It’s simple, easy to learn, uplifting, and catchy. It was released in mid-2018 and subsequently featured on Bethel Music’s Victory album in 2019. Since then, it has become a staple in Christian worship, and as I write this, it’s smack in the middle of CCLI’s top 100 list. What does “Stand in Your Love” mean, is it Biblical, and should you be singing it in church? Let’s investigate.

Focus

The focus of this song is the singer’s steadfastness and ability to overcome fear because of the love and power of Jesus.

This song never specifically mentions God or Jesus, and could be sung about a romantic partner except for the reference to an empty grave in the bridge. This isn’t necessarily a problem in a church service where it’s obvious that we’re singing to God, but it’s worth noting.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
This verse personifies the forces of evil, sadness, and pain, and the singer refuses to be shaken even when in the midst of them.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the light (Jn. 1:5, 8:12). His enemies are symbolized by darkness (Ac. 26:18, Col. 1:13). Darkness trying to “roll over my bones” is a poetic description of the spiritual forces of evil that try to oppress believers.

Sorrow here represents sorrowful circumstances that attempt to rob us of the joy that we have in Jesus through his Spirit (Gal. 5:22, John 15:11). Saying that brokenness and pain are “all I know” is a common hyperbole to evoke an emotional state, not a literal statement that the singer doesn’t know anything else. That would be silly.

We echo the Psalmist in saying that we won’t be shaken. This is only a true statement if we are keeping our eyes on God, following him, and counting on his strength rather than our own. This is not a statement of personal empowerment, but of God’s power. (Ps. 16:8, 62:6, Isa. 41:10)

CHORUS
“My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in Your love”

We sing directly to God in the chorus, repeating the same line over and over as a declaration of God’s power over our fears and of our trust and confidence in him because of his love.

God tells us not to fear too many times to count in the Bible. The clearest and easiest passage of Scripture to link to this chorus is 1 John 4:18, which says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” God’s love is stronger than all the things we fear, and the more we love him, the less room there is for fear of man, devil, or circumstance in our hearts.

Standing in God’s love sounds a lot like abiding in God’s love, so let’s look at Jesus’ words in John 15:9-12.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

So what does it mean to stand or abide in God’s love? A big part of it is obedience to his commands. And a big part of that is loving one another. So standing in God’s love doesn’t just mean remembering that God loves you, it also means remembering that he loves the people around you and being a conduit of that love, lavishing it on them like God lavishes it on you.

VERSE 2

Shame, lies, and the past are our enemies in the second verse.

I think our normal understanding of shame is more private and personal than the kind of shame normally described in the Bible. The Bible speaks often of being put to shame, which feels more like public disgrace than the internal experience I associate with the word shame, and seems to be tied to being defeated or disproven. Trusting God means that we will not ultimately be put to shame or disgraced, but vindicated (Rom. 10:11, Ps. 25:1-2). With regard to the internal kind of shame, God is the one who purifies our consciences (Heb. 9:14), takes away our regret through repentance (2 Cor. 7:10), and lifts up our heads (Ps. 3:3).

Jesus is the truth, so he is the antidote to the lies the enemy breathes in our ears (John 14:6).

We can leave our past sins and regrets behind because anyone in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and he has removed those sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12)

BRIDGE

Breaking chains is a metaphor for the freedom from sin that we have in Jesus (John 8:34-36), and God also breaks literal chains several times in Scripture (Ps. 107:10-16, Acts 16:26, Lev. 26:13).

Jesus’ power empties out several graves by resurrecting their occupants from death (John 11:43-44, Matt. 27:52), most notably his own (Matt. 28:6). We eagerly await his second coming when he will raise all of those who belong to him from our graves (1 Thess. 4:16). There’s a second meaning here as well, a sense in which we have already been resurrected from our spiritually dead state and raised to new life in Christ (Eph. 2:1-7). That is the powerful grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus’ name contains the power that will cause every knee to bow (Phil. 2:10). It is the name into which we are baptized, symbolizing our death and resurrection with him (Rom. 6:3). It is the name through which God hears and answers our prayers (John 14:13).

Accessibility

This song uses everyday language and common figures of speech rather than specific Bible allusions that you have to understand in order to grasp the meaning. The only Bible reference you really need to understand is the line “power that can empty out a grave.” I think this song actually makes an easy stepping-on point for an unchurched person to begin to learn how to sing to God, since much of the language of the verses is similar to what you might hear in a counseling session or self-empowerment talk, but the chorus and bridge redirect those feelings of encouragement by telling us that the power we need comes from God, not ourselves.

If someone hears this song outside of church and they’re not paying attention to the bridge, it could be mistaken for a secular song about a romantic partner who has helped the singer overcome self-doubt and regret. In a worship service, I don’t think that’s really an issue.

Music

I’ll be describing the standard Bethel/Josh Baldwin version of the song here, but if you’re looking for a female-led version that’s less country/more pop, check out the less well-known recording by co-author Rita Springer.

A simple guitar accompaniment with a light swing rhythm guides us into this song, followed by a classic “b-boom clap” drum part on the first chorus, and then the rest of the band comes in with the full groove of the song on the following instrumental. Nothing super challenging for the band here, and the chords are pretty much the same pattern for the whole song except the bridge.

The bridge provides much-needed contrast, and the following chorus sees the band drop out and just play single hits on the chord changes while the congregation’s voice comes to the fore. We end with another big chorus and a little ad-libbable outro.

The melody and rhythm are super easy for congregants to learn, especially the chorus, which is just the same line over and over. My only musical concern is that the same simplicity that makes “Stand in Your Love” so congregational might also cause the band to tire of playing it.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yep.

What “Stand in Your Love” lacks in specificity, it more than makes up for in accessibility. It might not explicitly reference a lot of Scripture, but the ideas presented are eminently biblical. It’s an anthem of trust in God and a commitment to the kind of boldness that Paul demonstrated in his Kingdom work. May it propel us to serve God and our neighbor with confidence by standing in and pouring out the great love that he has toward us.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.