I believe music is the most powerful force God has given to humanity.
When people gather to sing, the Holy Spirit enters into that space, and even if the song is not about God, God is still there. From years and years of doing music, both spiritual and secular, I truly believe this, because it’s not the words that make this experience so spiritual, but it’s the music itself.
The raw emotion in the vocals and the earthy tones for the guitars, the deep and mellow roar from strong instruments and the triumphant shouts from the brass all come together to show to true glory of God’s nature.
Music has the power to tell stories that transcend language and cultural boundaries. The passion behind the music we play speaks for itself.
I’ve had encounters with God at folk music festivals and at orchestra concerts. God’s power through music is unlimited, but it multiplies when we combine the power of music with the praises of God.
This is what I have learned already from our times of worship here in Colombia.
It all started with a little coffee shop night. A group of us were asked to sing and play at the coffee shop that is on the bottom floor of our ministry site as a new form of ministry. At this point, I had done women’s ministry, Aqua Panela and prayer walks, and this was finally a form of ministry I felt 100% confident doing. There were 6 of us playing and singing. Sarah and I on guitar, Nikki on miscellaneous percussion consisting of an egg shaker, foot tambourine, and jingle bells, and Andrew, Nicole and Tyler sang with us as well. We were then joined by Juan on cajon, and Asira and Mari on uke. They are all 3 native Colombians. Some of them spoke English, and some of them didn’t. As we were playing and practicing for the coffee shop performance, they were playing along with pretty much everything. We sang mostly in English, but I was trying to include them as much as possible, so we sang some parts of some songs in Spanish, too, like Oceans and 10,000 reasons.
It was very humbling to get to play with these guys. They knew most of the songs we were doing, but only in Spanish, but even if they didn’t know the song, they would hop right on board and play or sing with us. We were laughing, joking, and just jamming out together, and that reflected in the evening. It was a night of reckless abandon in worship. Once we finished our planned set, the Colombians jammed out to some more Spanish worship songs, and I could not help but dance, and eventually some others joined in this dance. Young old, male female, we were all jammin out to Jesus in that coffee shop, and even if we didn’t know the words, the presence of the Lord was there with us.
Then, on Sunday, we had our first all-squad worship. This time, we got to sing entirely in English! WOOT! So we prepared about 5 songs and we got a group of musicians to lead worship. This time, I got to sit back and just enjoy the worship instead of having to worry about playing or singing. Emilie M, Ashley, Nikki, Sarah and Nate led worship this time, and it was so amazing to watch the Holy Spirit move through them as worship leaders. After a week of our squad being split up every which way to do ministry, it was so humbling and unifying to get to finally be together in the presence of the Lord.
We then had John Sanchez share a lesson, and he spoke about Exodus 3, and how
God calls us, and even when He shows us time and time again that He is good, we still doubt Him. This was the case with Moses. Moses was afraid of what people would think and forgot about all of the signs and wonders God had done to show that His ways and His decisions are perfect. I felt a lot like Moses coming into this year. I felt called to be a worship facilitator on the World Race, but as soon as God put it in my lap, I became terrified. I forgot how God has shown me time and time again that this is how He has made me, and because I am made in His likeness and with His spirit, I can do anything He asks of me, no matter how terrifying it seems.
After our planned worship, the squad still felt the Holy Spirit and we continued in spontaneous worship featuring me on guitar, and various others leading songs as they felt lead to sing. This was the exact sign I needed. God showed me that whether there is a plan or not, He made us to worship Him, and it’s that natural and that simple.
Then on Wednesday we had another wonderful night of worship. Our group from Friday was asked to lead worship in Spanish for the Wednesday service at the foundation. We were all kind of intimidated to be singing and leading in Spanish, and we had very limited time to learn these songs in a foreign language. We got the help of some of the house worship leaders, and somehow, it all came together by the grace of God.
Getting to sing those songs in the language of the men and women in the program was a powerful experience. It felt as if we at bridged a major communication gap, and we were all dwelling in the same space together. We finally fully understood each other, and fully saw each other through the eyes of Christ.
All three of these worship moments were very different, and each served different purposes, but God was there for each of them. Whether it was bringing people in off the streets, unifying our squad, or leading worship for Colombians, God’s power manifested when we raised our voices and our music together. When we were shouting the praises of God, He made His peace and love known to every ear our music fell on. Worship is not just something we do for fun. I believe that the power of God is at its strongest when we sing His praises in community, and that is something we can do every day. It doesn’t have to wait for services or wait for after we figure out every chord and harmony. Just in setting time aside to offer our gift of music to Him is enough for Him. I cannot think of anything more beautiful and hopeful than this truth.
