The Worship Experience

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

Psalm 95:6

Last night, our family attended The Worship Experience at our new church, Freedom Life Church (FLC). I went prepared to..."worship," aka sing a lot of "worship" songs and have some fun praising God.

I left having experienced WORSHIP, and it was POWERFUL.

Unfortunately, I didn't know what to say beyond that.  I felt a strong urge to write about it. I posted on facebook that it was an experience like nothing I had ever had...but how to put that experience into WORDS?

If you Google the definition of "worship" you get: 

wor·ship

ˈwərSHəp/

noun

1. 1.

   the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

   "the worship of God"

   synonyms:

   reverence, veneration, adoration, glorification, glory, exaltation; More

verb

1. 1.

   show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites.

   "the Maya built jungle pyramids to worship their gods"

   synonyms:

   revere, reverence, venerate, pay homage to, honor, adore, praise, pray to, glorify,exalt, extol;

In the grand scheme of things, I guess that's about what I expected...a feeling...an expression. 

I expected ME...MY actions...MY worship. But then, GOD. 

It started much like many other worship experiences I've had: God showed up in my life in a major way to show me how much He loves me. Man...I must really take that for granted.

Earlier in the day yesterday, I posted on facebook about the C-section we have scheduled this Wednesday. I SAID I was "praising God for His goodness and sovereignty," because when I was writing the post all I could think of was the song, Good Good Father,  by Chris Tomlin.

You're a good, good Father, it's who You are...it's who You are.

As I was posting it, I knew of His goodness and power, but that didn't stop the FEAR because that's the reality. I have been absolutely terrified at the thought of lying there on a table, awake, while they cut me open and take out my baby. Terrified.

And then, of all the songs we could have possibly sung last night, what was the very first? Good Good Father...and I remembered, sang, and experienced the second part of the chorus:

You're a good, good Father; it's who You are...it's who You are.

And I'm loved by You; it's who I am...it's who I am.

When I posted to facebook, I knew He was a good, good Father...but I forgot that my entire identity as His child is encapsulated in the fact that I am LOVED by Him. It is WHO I AM.

He loves me...more deeply than I can ever possibly imagine..and He, the God of the entire universe, reached down to show me that by ordaining the very first song as mine. 

That's not the first time that has happened to me, though, so had it ended there. It would have been like a big, fat hug from Jesus (which once again, I think I take for granted), but last night was...so much MORE.

TWO HOURS, ya'll. We spent TWO HOURS, in song and in prayer, falling at the feet of the Creator of the Universe, expressing HIS MIGHT and HIS GLORY and HIS SOVEREIGNTY.

When you do that, spend that much time laying down at the feet of God and expressing His greatness, something amazing happens: everything else ceases to matter.

That's not to say that it all disappears.

People walked in there with money problems...
People walked in there with marriage problems...
People walked in there with health issues...
People walked in with walls and strongholds...

And guess what...people walked out of the building with a lot of those same things, BUT (and it's a BIG but), spending that much time and energy in worship puts every, single one of those things into perspective.

True worship doesn't make them disappear, but it shows how scrawny and insignificant they are in light of who HE is. And that, my friends, is POWERFUL.

As I write this, it occurs to me that it's still beyond words. Every attempt I make pales in comparison to the actual thing.

I'll never be able to put it into words.

However, there is a bottom line:

No matter what you're going through, today - no matter how hard, bad, frustrating or heart-breaking - situations in your life may seem, they are no more than mere situations, and they are NOTHING in comparison to the goodness, love, and power of our God, who reigns now and forevermore.

Today, I would encourage you to take some time...however long it takes...lay your burdens at His feet, and just spend some time WORSHIPING Him and PRAISING Him for who He is, and whatever you lay down at the foot of His throne will diminish in the light of His glory.

Raise your hands. Get on your knees. Reach up to the Sky. Fall down on your face. Whatever it takes.

Today, experience worship.

God's Holy Tether

He stands there alone, eyes fixed forward and chest high. I'm sure he's praying. How could he not be?

Praying for all of us. 

Praying for the people who were touched by the Spirit, but are unwilling to move. 

Praying for those who the sermon should have touched, but didn't because their hearts are hard and their ears clamped shut.

He had just delivered a powerful sermon, the gospel made personal to each of us. I felt sure it would stir many to tears and revive hearts and spirits, convict and cleanse. But now, as he stood there during the public invitation, I watched him: motionless, praying, patiently waiting.

For a moment, I was discouraged for him.

Then, I thought about every other week. Sometimes people respond to the invitation, but more often than not, he stands there the same as this week: motionless, praying, patiently waiting.

How does he do that?!

That's the question that was screaming at me as we drove home that afternoon. 

I get so discouraged sometimes. I've been discouraged because, despite a serious increase in effort lately, my blog readership seems weak and, sometimes, even in decline. I've been discouraged by the underwhelming show of enthusiasm for The Art Of Marriage event coming up, feeling like I'm trying to coax people into making marriage a priority - a cheerleader for a losing team.

Yet, there he stands each week, peace and joy in his countenance.

Of course, I had to send him an email to ask him. I just couldn't let it go. If we're going to go into ministry, I need the voice of experience to give me a little guidance, because I'm drowning in a pool, of hopeless, self-pity already...and we've only just begun.

His response?

Discouragement in ministry is oh so common. We ALL go through discouragement. And sorry to say, it is a shadow that will always follow you. I have to own that emotion and then tie a rope around it and pull it to the side. To deny I have those feelings is, I think unhealthy. But to let discouragement rule the day only creates lethargy. I am reminded that people are fickle and God is trustworthy. We are commanded to sew and it is God bring the harvest.

So relax. Keep both hands on the plow.

Um...a shadow that will follow me? Fantastic. However, I spoke with him a bit later, and he elucidated...and it changed everything.

He said that discouragement and ministry go hand-in-hand, but it has its uses because it keeps us constantly tied to God, relying on Him to be the encouragement we need. 

I could feel the light bulb blink on above my head.

We have to stay connected with Him all the time, keeping our pride out of the way, and relying on Him to do His will through us. Our meager efforts aren't meant to conquer armies and hardened hearts. It's only God working through us that can do those things.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

If we could do it all by ourselves, then we wouldn't need a Savior, would we? But we do...we really do. 

This extends far beyond those in "ministry," though. God often allows discouragement and despair in our lives so we will seek Him, relying on His strength.  

It can be a hard lesson to learn.

Recently, I had a teensy-weensy emotional breakdown...which translates to I was bawling like a baby and everything seemed hopeless and wrong. I did what I normally do in those moments: pray and then call my sister-in-law, Jamie, to talk me down. As always, it was worth the call.

She suggested that perhaps I was coming to the end of myself...the end of my talents, my strengths. God was pushing me to rely on His strength instead of my own.

And she was absolutely right.

God wants us tethered to His strength, instead of trying to operate on our own.

What are you trying to handle by yourself right now? What has you discouraged and hopeless? What situation or predicament are you trying to handle with your own strength, instead of placing it in the hands of our loving, almighty God?

Today is the day, my friends. Turn it over to Him, and if you're like me, pray about keeping it turned over because I have a tendency to try to take it back. Put your worries where they belong, and have faith that, indeed, all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,

that he may lift you up in due time. 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-8