#133 – Brooke Ligertwood

Brooke Ligertwood, a gifted worship leader, has transitioned into different phases of the music business throughout her lifetime. Beginning under her maiden name, Brooke Fraser, she released six mainstream albums with Sony Music. Subsequent choices brought her to the position in Hillsong Worship, which she is now most well known for. She has been a part of their ministry for seventeen years, and two years ago, she decided to release a worship album of her own.

She clearly states this decision: “I never had a worship album on my heart until the Lord made it clear He had it on His.” Her passion for God makes this record, SEVEN, an extraordinary display of dedication. Written spontaneously in 2021, she collaborated on the project with fellow musicians Jason Ingram, Scott Ligertwood, and Pastor Steven Furtick. We dive into one song from SEVEN and then her newest single below. 

“A Thousand Hallelujahs”

“Who else would die for our redemption
Whose resurrection means I’ll rise
There isn’t time enough to sing of all You’ve done
But I have eternity to try.”

This lyric makes me smile. It feels like a miracle that these words were birthed into a song I could hear. There is something about them that I just can’t put into words. I have never been more confident that God spoke such a set of words into existence.

This song is incredible because it points the glory back to God. I enjoy looking back into my past, seeing how far I’ve come, and especially analyzing my mistakes. Most of them seem insignificant now, and I love the fresh perspective. But the mindset I used to apply was one of anxiety and self-criticism, something that’s not of God. I used to look back and think of how ignorant I was in those moments; now, I think of how ignited I am, on fire for God. As a Christian, no decision didn’t further me in some way. I may not have made the right choice, but it somehow steered me onto the right path. Overall, it pushed me down the trail closer to God. With this spirit of gratitude, I reflect now, and I declare that no matter where life leads me, I will never stop singing out to God with a thousand hallelujahs. 

“Fear of God”

“We may not win every battle, but He wins the war
Christ is coming, and there’s only so long He’ll wait.”

I usually highlight a holistic perspective for the second half of the article, capturing my favorite song lyrics. However, these two lines stood out to me and didn’t need context. Brooke speaks against discouragement when admitting we will not win every struggle we are pitted against; that fact can wear the Spirit down. She quickly reminds her listeners that God remains faithful even with this hard-to-swallow truth. Even more than that, He will never be knocked off His throne of victory. 

We can say that Christ is coming, in passing, happy to live our own lives as we please. But when Brooke follows it up with, “There’s only so long He’ll wait,” the statement regains power. Indeed, His coming is not some indefinite event that will never occur. We are approaching His return and must recognize our responsibilities while pursuing personal agendas. Let’s refocus our hearts on Him and begin to worship Him in a fear resemblant of reverence, not nonchalance. I pray He will position your perspective today in awe of Him.