I woke up very early this morning with the line of an old song running through my head. It might as well have been playing out loud in my mind. “Take time to be holy. Speak oft with thy Lord. Abide in Him always. And feed on His Word. Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.” I can honestly say that I have not thought of that song in many years, and did not know it was still there, lying dormant in my memory for decades until about 4:20 this morning. Yet, here it is now, a song written one hundred years before I was born, compelling me to get up and sit in a very quiet house, heart looking up toward my God, and seek His beautiful face. I love that. My soul needed this moment.
Several weeks ago, I was in class with our group of women in the higher security part of the women’s prison. Some of them are serving life sentences. One of our ladies wanted us to have a time of worship, so we went to the room next to ours where there was a piano in serious need of tuning. She began to play and led us in a couple of songs. One of them was Reckless Love. Tears ran down faces as we sang, “When I felt no worth, still Your love fought for me. You have been so, so good to Me! ….There’s no wall You won’t kick down, lie You won’t tear down, coming after me. Oh, the overwhelming, never ending, reckless love of God. It chases me down, fights till I’m found, leaves the 99…” That song was followed by “Who the Son sets free is free indeed.” They sang this through tears a handful of yards away from razor wire fencing. It was a holy moment, with our hearts looking up at our God. Our souls needed that, and God was worshipped, right there in the prison.
I remember the first week I was on worship team at our church. I was listening to the songs for that week in my car outside of an AMC theater where I was waiting to pick my daughter up from a birthday party. A new rendition of Amazing Grace started playing and it was so beautiful it nearly took my breath away. “I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see. Oh, I can see You now, I can see the love in Your eyes. Laying Yourself down. Raising up the broken to life.” I was blind, but now I see. What do I see? I see You. Wow. It brought me to tears, and I had a holy moment right there in my car, looking up at my God, and worshipped the Beautiful One.
When I was in high school, living in Peru, our church youth group took a trip to the Amazon jungle. We had prepared songs and a program to share in different churches in the region we were visiting. One night we went to a church so far off the road, we had to trek down a muddy path through brush that was as high as our shoulders at points. Finally, the path led to a small clearing where a little hut/church stood. Once inside the small church, I noticed that up front, the instruments they had available were only tambourines. Seven of them to be exact. They were hanging up on the wall, ready to be grabbed by church members and used in worship. We led the service that night, singing mainly praise choruses in Spanish, accompanied by tambourines. It was a holy moment. God was worshipped by His precious ones, right there in the Amazon. We looked up at His face, together.
I have heard the Grand Canyon used as a metaphor for worship music. They say that when you arrive at the Grand Canyon, it is just as beautiful and awe inspiring whether you got there in a Mercedes or on a bicycle. The vehicle that brought you there is not the point. The point is the destination. To take the metaphor a step farther, I would add that you don’t expect to see people at the Grand Canyon hanging out in the parking lot inspecting vehicles. Admiring some. Criticizing some. Figuring out of any of these vehicles were built by broken and flawed people. Arguing with other tourists about whose vehicle is better and the right way to get here. You would not expect that because it’s not about the vehicle. It is about the beauty they all came to behold.
I think it is the same with worship. Worship is about Jesus. It is about hearts raised to Him. Our souls need this. It is the only right and true response to God.
Do we all have different musical tastes? Sure. Are there some songs or styles we prefer over others? Absolutely. Do the people around me need to comply with my own personal preferences? Nope. Because they aren’t worshipping me. We are worshipping Him, together. So, whether we got here on a bike, or a Cadillac… whether we are using seven tambourines with choruses in the jungle, whether we are weeping through a modern song in the prison or singing with a full band at church, I am just so glad we are here together. Look up! He is beautiful. He is worthy.
