Have you noticed how happy Christian worship songs tend to be? Perhaps they're a little too happy too often. In Leah Libresco’s article The Sun is Always Shining in Modern Christian Pop, she says,

Contemporary Christian pop music might be taking Psalm 100’s command to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” a little too far. Jamie Grace’s “Beautiful Day” was one of the top 10 Christian songs of 2014 and has a typically peppy chorus: “This feeling can’t be wrong / I’m about to get my worship on / Take me away / It’s a beautiful day.” Switch it out for Pharrell’s “Happy,” and a congregation might not be able to tell the difference.

There’s nothing wrong with a joyful song. Honestly, though, life is hard. A lot of times, we Christians try to hide that. We might not actually say “If we’re Christians, it means we have it all together.” Sometimes, our actions say it for us. We pretend that we have nothing to be sad or scared or worried about and that we don’t struggle with sin because that would mean we don’t love God enough. We put up a face that says we don’t have any doubts. Nope, we trust God just like we should. We’re okay. We’re lying.

The most useless place to lie, cover up, and pretend is in worship, and it’s possibly the most destructive place as well. Lebresco says,

"Winter Christians,” a group that Beck describes as having a relationship with God that is more touched by pain, distance or doubt. They can’t recognize themselves in the “Walt Disney-fication” of contemporary Christian music, Beck said, and when their experiences with Christianity aren’t reflected in hymns, they tend to assume that there’s something “wrong or diseased about who they are."

I’ve been there – a lot of us have been. Some words about trust or surrender are coming out of your mouth, but you know you don’t mean them. Everyone around you is singing it, though, and maybe you wonder what's wrong with you. We're afraid of our doubts, our weaknesses, and our imperfections. Well, God isn't. So, we shouldn't be either. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He doesn’t even want us to try to be. He died because he knew we couldn’t. So, why should we pretend to be while we’re worshipping him?

We’ve heard of David, the guy after God’s own heart. If you read the psalms he wrote, they don’t all read like “God is great, and I love to worship him.” Some of them do, but a lot of them read more like “I’m miserable right now. God, where are you?” God is not afraid of our doubt. We shouldn't be either.

I've put together a list of worship songs that may speak to you better if you don’t relate to the typical worship song. There may be some lines in these songs that aren’t relatable for you, but focus on the lines that are. I hope these songs will give you hope to look up, words when you have none, or whatever it is you need right now.

When you don’t know how you’ll make it

Strong Enough — Matthew West

Carry Me — Josh Wilson

Giants Fall — We Are Messengers

Praise You in This Storm — Casting Crowns

Shoulders — For King and Country

You Make Beautiful Things — Gungor

When you’re tired of fighting

Worn — Tenth Avenue North

No Fight Left — JJ Heller

Need You Now — Plumb

When you feel ashamed

The Struggle — Tenth Avenue North

How Can It Be — Lauren Daigle

Magnify — We Are Messengers

When you don’t know how to believe

Give Me Faith — Elevation Worship

When you feel alone

By Your Side — Tenth Avenue North

Not Forgotten — Ryan Stevenson

Hold Me Together — Royal Tailor

Here are some other encouraging songs to help you out.

Motivational

Keep Walking (Move) — TobyMac

Get Back Up — TobyMac

Hope in Front of Me — Danny Gokey

Never Surrender — Skillet

Come as you are

If We’re Honest — Francesca Battistelli

Come As You Are — David Crowder

Food for thought

Blessings — Laura Story

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again — Danney Gokey

Just Be Held — Casting Crowns

Other

Through All of It — Colton Dixon

I Need a Miracle — Third Day

Redeemed — Big Daddy Weave

Forgiven — Sanctus Real

Addicted to My Pain — Seventh Day Slumber

In Your Hands — Unspoken

Magnify — We Are Messengers

In Better Hands — Natalie Grant

Live Like You're Loved — Hawk Nelson

Know that it's okay to be where you are. That doesn't mean you don't have to do anything to get better. It means that God meant for life to be this way. He never said it would be easy, but he gave us this promise.

He who began a good work in you will finish it. ~Philippians 1:6

You might not be where you need to be, but God will help you get there.