Hillsong UNITED – Know You Will

Hillsong Church is a megachurch founded in 1983 in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia.  It was formerly led by Hillsong Founder Brian Houston.  Hillsong possesses a massive discography, spanning across four music ministries.  These include Hillsong UNITED, Hillsong Worship, Hillsong Young & Free, and Hillsong Kids.

Hillsong has won several awards within their Hillsong UNITED and Hillsong Worship artist groups.  As of this writing, there are no awards for Hillsong Young & Free or Hillsong Kids.

Also, check out my entire list of Hillsong reviews and Christmas songs, Seasons and Prince of Heaven.

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?

This song is about Hillsong placing their faith and hope in God regardless of circumstances.  Even if things seem hopeless, trust in Him.  He knows what is best for them and has a plan.  After all, He saved them from hellfire.

Score: 10/10

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

When properly understood, this song is Biblical.

[Verse 1]

When the road runs dead, You can see a way I don’t
And it makes no sense, but You say that’s what faith is for
When I see a flood, You see a promise
When I see a grave, You see a door
And when I’m at my end, You see where the future starts

There are only two roads that exist: the narrow road that leads to life and the wide road that leads to death (Matthew 7:13-14).  Thus, this road trajectory change points to salvation: from death to life (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

As for line 2, I have two conflicting thoughts.  Some people believe that faith is “believing where there is no evidence” or “believing despite evidence“.  Both are incorrect.  Faith is about trust.  How can one trust Jesus without any proof?  That makes no sense.  However, there is trust involved when we don’t have all the answers.  Abraham, according to Hebrews 11:8-12, is a prominent example of this.  He left his homeland without knowing where he was going in faith on a promise.  That doesn’t make sense either.

Of the two, I think the latter aligns with Christian belief and the former aligns with the unbeliever’s reaction.  More on that in section 3.

[Chorus]

I don’t know how You make a way, but I know You will

Again, this is about salvation.  See commentary on Verse 1.

I don’t know how You make a way, but I know You will

Repeats line 1.

You’ve been good on every promise
From Eden to Zion
Through every dead end
And out of that grave

Lines 3-6: He keeps all 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).

I don’t know how You make a way, but I know You will

Line 7: Repeats line 1.

[Verse 2]

When the world’s on fire, it’s not like You don’t have a plan

This is so because God knows all things (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30, John 21:17, Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20)

And when the earth gives way, on this Rock Your church will stand

Borrows from Matthew 16:18.

And nothing has ever once surprised You
Nothing has ever made You flinch

See commentary on line 1.

And when it all shakes out, the gates of Hell don’t stand a chance

See commentary on line 2.

[Bridge]

You pulled my heart from Egypt
You carved a road through sea

This uses Exodus 14:1-31 in the figurative sense to speak on salvation.  It also points to the true-ism that “everything seems to work out” when we place our trust in God, though not to the exclusion of human effort.  After all, if two farmers are in the field and they both pray for rain, the one who planted seeds trusted God more over the one who didn’t.

From all our chains to endless praise

That is, all the things that prevent us from fully worshipping God are undone (Psalm 116:16, Mark 5:8, Romans 6:20, and Galatians 5:1).

The story ends in You

It’s all about God (Hebrews 12:2).

And when we cross that Jordan

Similar to lines 1 and 2 except that crossing the Jordan is used figuratively, borrowing from Joshua 3:2.

Look back at where we’ve been

Not in the same sense as Lot’s wife did in Genesis 19:26, but for self-reflection (Matthew 3:8).

From all our chains to endless praise

See commentary on Verse 1.

The story ends in You

Repeats line 4.

[Outro]

I know You will

That is, faith.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

I think unbelievers will understand the general gist of this song, despite its heavy usage of Christianese language.  Most will be familiar enough with Moses and crossing the Red Sea to connect the dots, though perhaps inaccurately thinking Moses led the Israelites into the Jordan.  God can do amazing things.

My chief concern is about their potential misinterpretation of “I don’t know how You make a way, but I know You will”  They will probably think that God guarantees success, health, wealth, and zero problems if they put their faith in God.  Some want to love God the same way a farmer might love a cow: not for what it is but for all the milk and cheese it provides.  Some will walk away disappointed when their faith (or lack thereof) isn’t changing anything.  Thus, this line has great potential to create false conversion when left up to unbelievers to interpret.

Finally, although the words “God” or Jesus” aren’t explicitly stated, the ample examples from Scripture point firmly in the direction of Christianity.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God as the One who saves Hillsong from their former road of destruction, breaking their chains of sin and placing them on the correct path that leads to life.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Hillsong UNITED’s Know You Will is a good song for believers.  it helps us remember the journey we were once on; God liberated us from eternal damnation.  He knows everything, makes plans that may not make sense to our limited human perspective, and will make good on every promise He made.  These points glorify Him.  Although those outside of Christianity will understand the general gist of this song, the phrase “You make a way” could lead to false conversion when understood as “God will 100% guarantee rescue you from life’s troubles.”

Although I personally don’t have anything against the phrase “You make a way”, I’ve noticed controversy in the comments of previous reviews I’ve done where this phrase exists.  Therefore, I exercise caution when considering this during corporate worship.  That goes double for seeker-sensitive churches where this requires more explanation.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Know You Will (listen to the song)

Artist: Hillsong UNITED

Album: Are We There Yet?

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2022

Duration: 3:38

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

*Copyright © 2021 Hillsong MP Songs (BMI) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

05/10/2024 – Forgot to include the song lyrics.  Added.