Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music (Feat. Chandler Moore & Dante Bowe) – Wait On You

Elevation Worship is a church-led band that was created in 2007.  They join Bethel Music and Hillsong as the “big three” that has the biggest reach in modern Christian music.  They released many albums and  EP’s.

They also won eight awards, including two Billboard for Top Christian Artist (2021) and Top Christian Song (Graves into Gardens, 2021), and two GMA Dove awards for Spanish Language Album of the Year (Aleluya (En La Tierra), 2020) and Worship Recorded Song of the Year (The Blessing (Live), 2020).

Also, check out my other Elevation Worship reviews. 

To put it succinctly, Maverick City Music is the audience on stage.  Recently, they have collaborated with other artists such as Elevation Worship, Chandler Moore, and Brandon lake to produce music.

They released seven EP’s and eight albums, including:

• Maverick City Vol. 1 EP (2019)
• Maverick City Vol. 2 EP (2019)
• Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 1 (2020)
• Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 2 (2020)
• You Hold It All Together (EP, 2020)
• Maverick City Christmas (EP, 2020)
• Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
• Jubilee (EP, 2021)
• Como En El Cielo (Spanish, 2021)
• Old Church Basement (with Elevation Worship, 2021)
• Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition (2021)
• Tribl I (with Tribl, 2021)
• Venga Tu Reino (2021)
• A Very Maverick Christmas (2021)
• Breathe (EP, 2022)

They won three awards last year, including one Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Album for their album Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 1 and two GMA Doves: New Artist of the Year and Worship Album of the Year (Old Church Basement).

Also, check out my previous Maverick City Music reviews.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Elevation-worship-and-maverick-city-music-wait-on-you-lyrics.

Side Note: Throughout this review, I will refer to the artists as “Elevation & Maverick”.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Elevation & Maverick draws heavily from Isaiah 40:31, desiring to do as the prophet Isaiah commands.  If we wait upon the Lord, then we will receive:

• Renewed power
• Heavenly reward
• Revitalized energy

I’m especially grateful that Elevation & Maverick’s level-headed, that God’s response to our waiting might not be what we expect.

Elevation & Maverick also makes other points about God, that He:

• Authors our movements
• Knows the future
• Is sovereign over our doubts, fears, and issues

Side Note: For those bothered by massive repetition, it starts during the first Bridge.  Bridge essentially repeats four statements six times, going a slightly smaller second round after a shortened, repetitive Chorus.  Outro repeats previous ideas over and over again, with the phrase “That’s what happens when you wait” appearing 15 times and “getting stronger” five times.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song is Biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: Elevation & Maverick chooses to obey 1 Corinthians 13:11 and 1 Timothy 4:7, that they put aside childish beliefs about unrealistic expectations.  “Happily ever after” isn’t reality.

Lines 3-8: Elevation & Maverick believes that something (or someone) is bigger than they are, identified later as God.  He is bigger than our problems (Job 26:14, Job 37:5, Psalm 147:3-5, Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26, 2 Corinthians 13:4, and 1 Timothy 6:15-16).  Elevation & Maverick witnessed God’s healing power, where an individual was told to make preparations for death, yet, God healed them physically.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: An idiom that references a huge financial windfall, such as winning the lottery or a massive inheritance.

Lines 3-7: Drawing from Verse 1, lines 1 and 2, Elevation & Maverick believe that God keeps His promises (Numbers 23:19, Joshua 21:45, Joshua 23:14, 1 Kings 8:56, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Hebrews 10:23, and 2 Peter 3:9).  However, God’s response may not be what they expect.  There could also be good reasons why God isn’t responding to us.

Line 8: An introduction to Chorus.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Elevation & Maverick obey Isaiah 40:31, exhibiting patience in their waiting.  Patience is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Line 2: Repeats line 1.

Line 3: Elevation & Maverick obey Psalm 34:8.

Line 4: See Verse 2, lines 3-7.

Line 5-9: Repeats/essentially repeats lines 1-4.

Line 10 and 11: I really think Elevation & Maverick are gonna do it!

[Verse 3]

Line 1: As stated in Psalm 37:23 and Proverbs 3:5-6, God establishes Elevation & Maverick’s steps.

Line 2: That is, the author and finisher of Elevation & Maverick’s faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Lines 3 and 4: Unless God has revealed it to a prophet (Amos 3:7), predicting the future is boasting in arrogance unless prefaced with something like “Lord willing” (James 4:13-16).  After all, only God knows our future (Job 14:5, Psalm 16:5, Psalm 139:4, Proverbs 19:21, Isaiah 46:10, John 16:13).

Lines 5-7: While there are many reasons why we ask questions, Elevation & Maverick are addressing questions that cause doubt.  Many of them boil down to a single question asked in various ways.  To put it succinctly, this question is: If God is good, why does He allow evil and suffering in the world?  As someone who lost an unborn child, this question hits hard.

My wife, distraught by our loss, looked to the Scriptures to answer this question.  Why did God take our son?  I’d like to share her thoughts:

• For Grace and to follow Christ’s example (1 Peter 2:19-21)
• So we don’t spend our lives in the flesh on human desires, but on the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-2 and 1 Peter 4:6)
• To learn from Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)
• Discipline, guidance, and instruction, which brings blessings (Psalm 94:12 and Hebrews 12:4-11)
• We are granted the privilege for Christ’s sake, not only to believe and confidently trust in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. (Philippians 1:29-30)
• God speaks through suffering (Job 33:14 and Job 36:15)
• God is the creator and knows what is best (Isaiah 55:9)
• God is the boss. He is allowed to do as He pleases. He is in control. (Psalm 135:6)

These show that God is superior to questions that cause doubt.

Line 8: God was, is, and will always be true (2 Samuel 7:25-28, Psalm 119:142, Psalm 119:151, Psalm 119:160, and John 17:17-19).

[Interlude (1)]

Lines 1-4: There are many other things that Elevation & Maverick can do other than wait upon God.  However, this would be impatience, leading to hasty, erroneous decisions (Proverbs 19:2, Proverbs 21:5, Proverbs 28:20, and Proverbs 29:20).

Line 5: Repeats line 4.

Line 6: Yeah!

[Bridge]

Line 1: Elevation & Maverick turn to their audience, instructing them to follow their example (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Line 2: Essentially repeats line 1.

Line 3: As stated in Isaiah 40:31.

Lines 4-24: Repeats/essentially repeats lines 1-3.

Side Note: Bridge’s second iteration is similar, but not exactly the same.  Also, the backup singer mentions weariness that draws from Isaiah 40:31 and Matthew 11:28-30.  Those who are heavy-laden should wait upon the Lord.

[Interlude (2)]

Line 1: “Somebody” used in African American Gospel lingo means “everyone”.  Elevation & Maverick instruct us to worship with all our heart (Psalm 86:12, Psalm 103:1-2, Psalm 103:22, Psalm 119:10, and Psalm 138:1) amid waiting.

Lines 2 and 3: Repeats line 1.

Line 4: That is, strength, faith, and hope will increase when we wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).

Lines 5-7: Quotes from Isaiah 40:31, changing the pronoun from “they” to “you”.  Also, this, alongside other lines in this section, often calls to Casper the friendly ghost.

Lines 8-10: Essentially repeats line 1.

Lines 11-14: See commentary on Interlude (1), lines 1-4.

Line 15: See Verse 3, line 1.

Line 16: Essentially repeats line 1.

[Interlude]

Lines 1-6: Essentially quotes from Isaiah 40:31, with a slight order change and addendums that amplify this passage.

Line 7: Elevation & Maverick state that Isaiah 40:31 presents benefits for waiting upon the Lord.

[Outro]

Aside from the bit about wisdom (See Interlude(1), lines 1-4), this entire section repeats previous lines that I’ve already covered.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Waiting upon the Lord is such an overtaught message in Christianity that, though rooted in Judaism, unbelievers who hear it over and over again will think the song is Christian.  I’m uncertain if they will comprehend its meaning.  I’m less certain that they will comprehend “mount on wings like eagles” without an explanation.

I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t understand the rest of the song as I’ve explained in section 1.  It’s written in everyday language, with words easy to digest.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that we wait upon Him, receiving the promises that He offers to the patient.  Yet, perhaps not in the way we want or expect.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music’s Wait On You is great.  It expands upon Isaiah 40:31, explaining that God is bigger than our problems, orders our steps, and keeps His promises.  This glorifies God.  Unbelievers may not know what this “waiting” is about, alongside mounting eagles.

Those who aren’t bothered by massive repetition may consider it for corporate worship.  Seeker-sensitive churches should explain what “wait upon the Lord” means before worshipping with this.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Wait On You (listen to the song)

Artist: Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music (Feat. Chandler Moore & Dante Bowe)

Album: Old Church Basement

Genre: Gospel

Release Year: 2021

Duration: 9:25

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.