Casting Crowns – Oh My Soul

Starting as a student worship band, lyricist and youth pastor Mark Hall began what is now a 20-year journey.

Casting Crowns released several albums and one EP, including:

• Casting Crowns (2001)
• What If the Whole World Prayed (2002)
• Casting Crowns (2003)
• Live from Atlanta (2004)
• Lifesong (2005)
• Lifesong Live (2006)
• The Altar and the Door (2007)
• Peace on Earth (2008)
• The Altar and the Door Live (2008)
• Until the Whole World Hears (2009)
• Until the Whole World Hears… Live (2010)
• Come to the Well (2011)
• The Acoustic Sessions: Volume One (2013)
• Thrive (2014)
• A Live Worship Experience (2015)
• Glorious Day: Hymns of Faith (2015)
• The Very Next Thing (2016)
• It’s Finally Christmas (EP, 2017)
• Only Jesus (2018)
• Voice of Truth: The Ultimate Collection (2019)
• New York Sessions (2019)
• Scars in Heaven (2021)

Also, check out my reviews of Praise You In This Storm, Nobody, What This World Needs, and If We Are The Body.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Casting-crowns-oh-my-soul-lyrics.

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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is a dialogue between Casting crowns and an unknown individual that, for the rest of this review, I will name Frank.  Frank is downcast and distraught about a decision he made.  He lost control and presumedly sinned.  Disgusted with himself, Frank wants to hide his lack of faith.  Casting Crowns summarizes Frank’s situation back to him before offering advice: surrender to God for aid and He will transform Frank from spiritually dead to alive in Christ.  When Frank makes excuses, Casting Crowns reassures Frank that he can do this.

Casting Crown’s dry bones and shipwrecked faith will be instantly recognizable to most believers, pointing us towards a Christian interpretation.

Score: 10/10

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

This song aligns with God’s inspired Word.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-12: Casting Crowns begins their counsel by accurately describing Frank’s situation.  He lost his self-control and acted in an unbelieving manner, too ashamed of what he did to desire telling others, aside from Casting Crowns.

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: Casting Crowns assures Frank that his situation is not unique.  Others struggle similarly.

Lines 3 and 4: This “place” is where God is, where perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

Lines 5-8: Casting Crowns guides Frank from his downcast spirit towards trusting God for aid by laying his burdens on Him (Psalm 43:5, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).

Line 9: Essentially repeats line 2.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: The Psalms teach that complete and brutal honesty is what God wants from Frank.

Lines 3-5: Casting Crowns makes no empty promises that Frank will have a carefree, easygoing life without problems and struggle (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4).

Lines 6 and 7: Alludes to Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 37:1-14, that God will revitalize Frank’s spiritual deadness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Line 8: God turns Frank’s mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11).

Lines 9 and 10: Borrows from Isaiah 61:3, which is connected to Jesus’ statement that this prophecy was fulfilled in Luke 4:16-21, pointing to Himself.

Line 11: This reminds me of John 9:25, where the healed blind man claimed he didn’t know if Jesus was a sinner or not, but knew without a doubt that he was once blind, but now he sees.  This is a similar sentiment to how Casting Crowns reintroduces Chorus.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-10: This is a conversation between Frank and Casting Crowns.  While Frank expresses his doubt, lack of strength, and inability to depend upon Himself (1 Timothy 1:19), Casting Crowns gently and lovingly points Frank to surrender (see Chorus, line 8).

[Outro]

Lines 1 and 2: Repeats Chorus, lines 1 and 2.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will know it’s a religious song since it talks about surrendering to God.  Which deity Casting Crowns refers is ambiguous outside of research (including the meaning of dry bones and shipwrecked faith) and placement in Christian circles.  Casting Crowns uses mostly everyday language to communicate their message.

Score: 5/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that Casting Crowns points Frank in God’s direction, that yielding to His ways results in strength and hope.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Casting Crowns’ Oh My Soul is great for believers.  It calls us to surrender to God’s will amid our doubts and fears, bringing glory to God.  Without further research and listening within a Christian context, the lyrics aren’t clear to unbelievers to which deity Casting Crowns refers.

This song is inspirational, but probably not appropriate for corporate worship.  It’s a song that uplifts others more than it worships God.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Oh My Soul (listen to the song)

Artist: Casting Crowns

Album: The Very Next Thing

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 4:17

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

Updates:

09/23/2021 – Added links to previous reviews.