(Photo : Aaron Shust)

Waiting rooms are the most excruciating places.  We have all been there.  We have all paced the floor waiting and waiting for our loved one to come out of the operating theatre all through the night.  But the door never seems to open, nothing seems to stave heaven's silence, time seems to be hijacked and prayers sound more like wasted breaths...    Ask Aaron Shust and his wife Sarah, they have been there. When their third son Michael was born, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome and a heart defect.  It was so dire that an open heart surgery was imminent.  Little baby Michael was in the operating theatre all night.  After what seems like forever and a day, the slits of the rays of the morning sun finally penetrates.  Like the holler of God's esteemed prophet, the morning light dawns God's promise: "weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). God may not give us the answers we want; but he always shows up in our waiting rooms and gives us the assurance we need.  This is the take home message to Aaron Shust's newest record "Morning Rises."   And if you have are at a waiting room (be it at the hospital or waiting for a job or God's next step), "Morning Rises" is indispensable.  The songs of "Morning Rises" will become your trusted friends offering a shoulder to cry on as faith is re-built in the God who never leaves us. 

Before we delve into the album, for the sake of those unfamiliar with Shust, it is prudent to say a word by way of introduction.  Together with Chris Tomlin, Hillsong Live and Darlene Zshech, Aaron Shust is one of North America's most sought after worship leaders and songwriters.  His debut release "Anything Worth Saying" became the fifth best selling praise and worship album of 2006.  And the album birthed the single "My God and My Savior" which not only became a number one record but brought home a Dove Award for "Best Worship Song."  "Morning Rises" is his fifth album but his sophomore effort for Centricity Music. Just like his preceding record "This is What We Believe," this is produced by Ed Cash (Jeremiah Story, Chris Tomin and Laura Story) and it is resourced with 10 newly crafted worship songs and a cover.  

Though Shust has come out of his waiting room, he never responded to his trials with bitter vendettas against God.  Rather, to Shust, waiting rooms are God's class rooms where the Almighty teaches us sublime truths about trusting Him. Though we may not always understand God's educational curriculum, but songs such as "Cornerstone," "Firm Foundation" "Mighty Fortress" and "God is For Us" teaches that God is reliable.  "Cornerstone," the Hillsong original, is Shust's only cover here.  A fresh resurgence of the old hymn "My Hope is Built" augmented with a newly written chorus, Shust's version unfortunately deviates little from Hillsong's version. "Mighty Fortress" finds Shust co-writing with Paul Baloche that anchors faith in God's loving character.  Pay attention to the progression of the song's lyrics: where the first verse speaks of God in the third person, by the time we come to the second, there is a deeper dive into the personal as divine pronouns change from 'he" to "you."

Destined to be another chart topper is "God of Brilliant Lights."  The clanging guitar riffs, the crescendo building drive and the anthemic explosion of the chorus are ingredients of what makes this a future worship classic.  However, maybe it's because of the lyrics, one can't help but think of Bebo Norman's "Lights of Distant Cities."  Congregational singing will further enhanced by "Rushing Waters" and "Great is the Chorus."  These are two God-centered anthems imbued with soaring hooks and celebratory awe.  They remind us that with God accompanying us in our waiting rooms, the waits are not futile.  Rather, they are worship moments; honeymoon opportunities with our Eternal Groom where we appreciate more of who He is and fall in love again with Him.