We have been in Jerusalem for the past two weeks now, partnering with a ministry that reaches out to the Arab community here. On Friday night during our Arab church service, we had one of the most interesting worship services that I have ever experienced. The worship leader was singing completely off key with the keyboard. The three bongo players in the congregation were all playing a different beat. There was a woman in the back of the room whipping a huge banner back and forth like crazy. And to top it all off, one man sat in the back row balancing a cup of water on his head (I’m not kidding!). He then got the bright idea to try and dance while still balancing the cup on his head. Needless to say, that failed and the water spilled onto the man sitting next to him. After a few moments, the cup was again filled with water and placed back on the man’s head. Oh what I wouldn’t give for a camera at that moment!
So I’m sitting in the midst of all this and trying not to die laughing. The whole thing is so absurd as to be hilarious. What really amused me the most was that all of these people were worshiping God with all of their hearts, yet it still looked so silly. Then the thought occurred to me: what if all of our worship looks like this? To God, even our best efforts at worship probably look more like children yelling at the top of their lungs and banging on pots and pans than anything truly beautiful.
And yet it is still truly beautiful to God.
He is blessed most in worship if our hearts are fully in it. Yes, we desire to worship God to the best of our abilities. But ultimately we could never match the glory and beauty of God. He alone is truly beautiful. Our efforts are like a child drawing pictures for his Daddy. The pictures may be no good, but our Daddy delights in them because of the heart behind the drawings.
I left the service encouraged. I want to worship God like these precious Arab people do – with all of my heart. I am free to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. What other people may think is really irrelevant. What truly matters is blessing our Father’s heart and bringing Him the honor that He deserves. So let’s become children after God’s own heart as David was. We may look like fools, but God will be pleased with us.
