For
those of you who didn’t already know, I have been violently ill for the past
couple of weeks. You always hear stories about people going to Africa and
picking up all kinds of exotic diseases, and I now have the privilege of getting
to say I was one of them. Brad and I
ended up staying back in the main city of Lome, Togo while the rest of our team
left for a village 45 minutes outside the city where they have been working at
an orphanage. While it was sad to stay
back and miss out on an entire week of ministry, I am now feeling much better,
and Brad and I have rejoined our team.
During
my stay back in Lome, I was a complete prisoner to my hotel room. My time was divided evenly between my bed and
the bathroom. My poor husband ran all
over the city filling prescriptions for me, picking up medication, bringing
back food and water, and basically waiting on me hand and foot. I was completely helpless. At this time, I would like to state for the
record that I have the most AMAZING husband in the world! I have never had anyone take such good care
of me. He was the hands and feet of
Jesus!
Anyway,
during my time as a prisoner, God was teaching me a lot about worship. As one of the worship leaders on our squad,
this is something I have spent a lot of time in prayer about. But in the past few weeks, God has really
been opening my eyes to be able to see things I never really thought about that
much before.
I have
always loved to sing! For as long as I
can remember, singing has been my happy place.
And after I became a Christian, I fell even more in love with
singing. Because now I had someone to
sing to, to sing about! Now I had
someone who was worthy of all the love and joy and overwhelming emotions I feel
when I sing. Singing songs to our Father
in heaven might be my favorite thing to do in the world!
But
what God has really been teaching me this month, is that I WAS ACTUALLY MADE TO
WORSHIP! I WAS CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE
OF WORSHIP! Worship is not just
something we love to do. Worship is
something we were BORN to do. Worship is
something God put inside of each and every one of us. It is a part of who we are as human beings. Our souls actually long for it. We are incomplete without it.
Think
about it. Even before we are Christians,
music has a certain effect on us. We
hear a certain song and it moves us. It
puts us in touch with whatever emotion we are feeling at that particular
time. When we’re happy, we’ll listen to
something energetic and heart-pumping in order to capitalize on the moment. When we’re feeling down, we listen to sad
love songs, or angry rock songs to help us process everything going on inside
of us. I remember going through a bad
breakup when I was sixteen. I listened
to Alanis Morisette’s “You Otta Know” over and over to express to the world how
pissed off I was (please don’t judge me!).
When we sing, there is emotion behind our words. Think about when you are alone in the car, or
alone in the shower. When we think no
one else is listening, we sing with all of our hearts and souls. We love music because it makes us come
alive. We love to sing along to a song
when the words mean something to us. THIS
IS NOT A COINCIDENCE! THERE IS A REASON
FOR THIS! YOU AND I WERE MADE TO WORSHIP! And when we do something that we were created
to do, our souls are made well!
In 1 Corinthians 14:3
prophesying is said to be speaking to men to edify, exhort, and comfort. In 1 Chronicles chapter 25, David accomplishes this
through singing and music. He organizes
288 skilled musicians and singers into 24 different groups whose SOUL PURPOSES
were to give thanks and praise to the Lord.
And this was a ministry of prophesy.
Worship is EDIFYING, EXHORTING, AND COMFORTING TO ALL MEN!
There was
this one night, back in Lome, where I had been throwing up in the bathroom for
what felt like hours. We’ve all been in
this less-than-desirable situation: you’re keeled over the toilet in misery,
just waiting for the sweet relief of death.
But as I was laying there groaning, I suddenly had the urge to start
singing one of my favorite worship songs by Hillsong called, “Desert.” So with my face still in the toilet bowl, I
mustered up the strength to “sing” the words:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship.
I will sing praise. I will sing praise.
No weapon formed against me shall
remain.
I will rejoice. I will declare
God is my victory, indeed is He.
Even
in this vulnerable and humiliating situation, with my face in a public toilet
bowl, I still have a reason to worship.
God is
very committed to teaching us how to see things the way He created them to be
seen. He does this in millions of
different ways. But one of the ways He
does this is through worship. In the
book “When Heaven Invades Earth,” Bill Johnson says, “Learning how to see is
not the purpose for our worship, but it is a wonderful by-product.”
It’s
true! Apart from salvation, worship is
probably the greatest of all Christian privileges! That’s right.
It’s a PRIVILEGE! When we go to
church on Sunday mornings and sing along with the worship band, it breaks my
heart when I see people just going through the motions because “they’re
supposed to.” Worship is a privilege! Jesus
died for us. He took everything we have
ever said, thought, or done that wasn’t pleasing to God and He suffered the
consequence of a brutal and humiliating death so that we wouldn’t have to. And now He lives in us. He has sent His Holy Spirit as a tutor to
guide us…and He strengthens us…and He comforts us…and He gives us dreams and
visions…and He gives us wisdom and understanding…and He answers our
prayers. And one day we will get to go
to heaven and be with Him for eternity.
Can we ever repay Him for what He did?
NO! So by all means, let’s worship
OUR BUTTS OFF! We have the opportunity
and PRIVILEGE to sing songs of praise to thank Him for what He’s done for
us. And as if that in itself wasn’t
awesome enough, He rewards us when we worship by pouring out His presence on
us! Wow!
John 4:23-24 says that those who worship in
spirit and in truth will learn to follow the Holy Spirit. When God’s people sing His praises, His
throne is established. Bill Johnson also
says, “It’s in the environment of worship that we learn things that go way
beyond what our intellect can grasp – and greatest of these lessons is the
value of His presence.” The value of
God’s presence is priceless. If there
was a word bigger than priceless, it would be that. In His presence, God gives us eyes to see
into the spiritual realm. He gives us an
opportunity to see His Kingdom in heaven established here on earth. In His presence, we are given the ability to
see with purity of heart. And as we
worship with purity of heart, our eyes will continue to open, and we can expect
to see what He wants us to see.
Psalm 100 Make a joyful shout to the
Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with
gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who
has made us and not we ourselves. We are
His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with
praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name. For the Lord is good; His
mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 111:1 I will praise the Lord with MY
WHOLE HEART, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all
times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 149:1-4 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise
in the assembly of saints. Let Israel
rejoice in their maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let
them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes PLEASURE in His people.
There
is a reason God tells us to worship. It
is not just an opportunity to thank Him for who He is and what He’s done. It is for our own benefit. He knows the value of His own presence. He wants us to experience that value. He wants us to be able to see things the way
they are meant to be seen. He is giving
us GOLD! TAKE IT!
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you
may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light.
God
has so much more for you than you could ever possibly imagine! We are “His own special people!”
So
yes, even with my face in the toilet bowl, feeling worse than I can even put
into words, I STILL have a reason to worship!
It is my PRIVILEGE as part of a chosen generation!
