I felt the warmth of a salty kiss fall from my eyes onto my cheek. Then another. Though words were sung in an unknown tongue and my mind had no way to comprehend, my heart and spirit were wide awake and overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s presence and the holiness of His name. I felt the adoration pouring out from the worship leader’s heart, expressed in utterances of French. I was undone as I worshiped in spirit and truth, arms held high to my King. Everyone else faded away. I was no longer in a small church in Cote d’Ivoire in Africa. I was in the throne room of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
In that moment I had a tangible revelation of the worship in Heaven, with every tribe, tongue, and nation lifting up their praises to our Savior. In unison of heart and Spirit we will adore Him, but our tongues will beautifully blend into perfect harmony, as we each sing our own part in our different languages to the Lamb that was slain.
I was once again reminded that worship goes beyond words that we sing. You can offer up empty lip service with a heart far from God. But your heart can offer up a sweet and pleasing aroma without any words being uttered.
And God reminded me that worship is able to transcend boundaries of culture, age, and language. Praise expressed in music was created in Heaven and has encircled the throne of God long before the earth was even created. And this I learned first hand as I sang to kids on the street of all different ages who couldn’t communicate with me through spoken language. Yet God moved. (photo credit to my amazingly talented teammate Katie Horst of K Kalon Photography)
