Have you ever been around a little kid who does not get bored with doing the same activity repeatedly? When my kids were little, they wanted me to play in the pool for hours. They pleaded with me to toss them into the air while playing in the pool. "Dad, do it again!"
With those cute little arm floaties, they took flight, screamed until they splashed back into the water, and then shouted with delight as they paddled back to me for another turn. The following day, I woke up wondering if I had thrown my kids in the air or been pushed to the brink in the gym by an insane trainer!
There's something about the wonder of a child that doesn't get bored in ways that adults struggle to reclaim. G.K. Chesterton famously pointed out that this childlike wonder is part of God's character.
"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead…It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun, and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
The first time I heard Red Rocks Worship's song " Never Gets Old, " I thought of my parenting experience and this quote. The song title struck me because it reminded me of the criticism "contemporary worship" received during the so-called worship wars of my childhood. Can we worship God in a way that doesn't result in the boredom that repetitiveness can create?
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The lyrics to "Never Gets Old" suggest this, as the chorus describes a wonder-filled approach to worship.
"Somehow it never gets old telling You You're holy (Holy, holy)
Somehow, it never gets old telling You You're lovely
Somehow, it never gets old telling You You're worthy
For as long as I live, I'll never get tired of giving You praise."
In a video posted on their Instagram page, a couple of band members described how the song was written.
"We had just gone through the song 'Echo Holy.' We were chilling out, and it was just a kind of a holy moment. And then this chorus just came out in that moment. We decided to write a full song on it…The title says it all, but it just never gets old to tell the Lord He's holy. I think the reason that I love that is the few glimpses we get into heaven in scripture. It gives the picture of angels, elders, creatures - they're all looking at Jesus. For a millennia plus, they've been looking at Him and singing one song. They've been singing 'He's holy, holy, holy is Lord Almighty, the One who is and who was and is to come.'
I love getting to sing that with a body, a church body, cause that kind of makes all of us snap into heaven's reality. If they have been singing it for millennia and it still isn't old for them…man, what are we about to see?"
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Listening to "Never Gets Old," you can sense what the Red Rocks Worship hoped to happen. The band references Isaiah 6, in which we read Isaiah's vision of the Lord's throne room." It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings...They were calling out to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!"
When the Lord brought this passage to mind yesterday, I sat in deep grief as our family mourned a great loss. The shock, mixed with bewilderment and anger, had me reeling. Out of nowhere, the phrase "In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord" from Isaiah 6 came to mind. I remembered how "Never Gets Old" linked to that chapter. I listened to the song repeatedly as the words ministered to my heart. I imagined what it was like to be in the presence of God, who holds all of creation together.
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If you're bored today, I pray you have a new sense of God's presence and power as you listen to "Never Gets Old." If you're grieving today like me, I hope you will remember that Isaiah's vision of God came as he was navigating deep grief. Psalm 34:18 tells us that God is near to the broken-hearted. When we experience God's presence and care, praising Him never gets old! May "Never Gets Old" remind you of how much you are held by an Almighty God today.
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps people transform difficult circumstances into places where they can thrive. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and loves watching movies with his wife and three kids. You can begin Scott’s life-changing project, The 21 Day Gratitude Challenge, today.
