For those of you who don’t know me very well, I come from a very musical family. And by musical family, I mean, pretty much everyone can sing. My grandpa was the music leader at church for years. My uncle is a worship pastor. A majority of my family members can play musical instruments in addition to singing. [Those few in my family that can’t sing, can play a mean radio and nail the “Where?” in I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in My Heart every single time]. I grew up singing. In all the different choirs at church. All the times my grandpa had all the kids come up front and sing a song during the Sunday night church service. At home. In the car. If a song is playing that I know, I sing along. I was in band. I took piano lessons for 10 years. My family sang in church. During family birthday parties, you’re expected to sing in tune and in your respected part. And that’s just how it was growing up. And kind of still is to this day.
Because this musical side has carried over into church, that is kind of what my expectations have been of worship in churches. It’s supposed to be good. And sing-along-able. And prepared with practice. The band is supposed to play together and hardly ever make mistakes. At least not noticeable ones. And that is what is pleasing to the Lord.
And then I went on this thing called the World Race.
First stop: Africa. And everyone knows all the songs. And all can sing. The tiny girls are belting out these songs with beautiful voices and ranges. And then in Malawi, there’s dances added to the songs. And everyone knows them. So you have these incredible voices belting out songs to the Lord and dancing in circles. Wow.
Next stop: Asia. Which was a little bit different. Some familiar choruses sung in the Baptist Church in the Philippines. At a rapid pace. But still great. And a youth choir. Who knew those existed in a remote town in the Philippines? As we went further along in Asia, the music quality went down a few notches. And that kind of bothered me. Because music is a way that I connect with the Lord. Asia continued and I came to the acceptance that I just wasn’t going to connect with the Lord with music there.
And then there’s South America. The first stop: Colombia. A country that I found to be most similar to American culture back home. And we were partnered with a church for our ministry. And they practiced the music before the church service. Although I didn’t know any of the songs, especially with them being in Spanish, it was music to my ears. It was refreshing. To have people who wanted to make their music a beautiful sound to the Lord.
And then this month, I got sent to the mountains in Peru. To these two little villages in the middle of nowhere. The first church was a small church comprised of about 15 people. And their hymns were printed on pieces of paper that were well worn. I thought I knew the tune of How Great Thou Art, but it seemed like I was singing a completely different song than the rest of the church. There was special music that was just thrown together on the spot, with tamborines and a little drum both playing to their own beats.
And as I was sitting there, I felt uncomfortable and wanting the moment to pass.
That’s when it hit me. My heart is so in the wrong here. I am so selfish and prideful.
And that’s when the Lord had some words for me and taught me a little lesson.
He loved the joyful. Because it was coming from a place of love for Him and a desire to worship Him with a pure heart. Which sounds better than some of the best worship services in the U.S. because the music isn’t always made from the right hearts. So He would rather hear a joyful noise in the mountains with pure motives of simply worshipping Him than a perfect worship service in the U.S where people want to make it about themselves sounding good while singing worship songs to the Lord.
I was reminded of the verses in Psalms where it says over and over again, “Make a joyful noise”. That’s what the Lord delights in. It doesn’t matter what it sounds like. It can be noise, it can be beautiful melodies. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s for the Lord, not ourselves.
When I came on the race, I didn’t expect to have such a hard time with worship. If I’m honest, it’s one of the things I miss most about life back in the States. But the Lord has been faithful to teach me about something I hold so dearly in my life as I’ve gone around the world.
So here’s one final verse to wrap it up and summarize my thoughts of worship around the world.
“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” Psalm 86:9
And that’s the only thing that matter. That His name is glorified and praised among the nations regardless of what it sounds like.
As I finish up the race, I want to grow in my appreciation of all the different worship, whether it’s a joyful noise or a beautiful melody. Because He is worthy of all our praise and accepts it when it comes from a pure heart.
