Last week I had to do something I absolutely despise: I had to do the service liturgy, sermon, and praise/worship at our Hub service. I don't hate doing the music piece, but I've never liked for the church service to be all about me. Even when I did youth, I tried to get other people involved so it wasn't about one person. Still, you do what you got to do, so I got my guitar and prepared to lead worship.
Something cool happens when you practice for worship. You find songs that the whole church will sing, but I often find myself going down rabbit holes of different songs I simply enjoy playing. I don't sound good singing them and I'm not half the guitarist that others who have played for our church are, but you get to have a very cool God moment in the privacy of your own house.
One song I kept coming back to was one by the group Shane & Shane from their album "Psalms II". It focuses on the verses in Psalms 46...
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. [...] Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalms 46:2-3, 8-11)
These are powerful words on their own, but in musical meter they cut straight to the heart. This overwhelming sense of God's immense power is contrasted with the safety and peace of his love.
We all have songs we like to listen to or play, but when is the last time you truly had a worshipful experience? When did you last truly experience God? I hope it hasn't been too long, but if it has, try just spending some time when you can listening to some meaningful worship songs on Spotify or on YouTube. Shut everything else out in your life and simply spend some time dwelling in God's presence. It is rewarding. In a world and era that has so much for us to do every minute of every hour of every day, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to sacrifice a few of those minutes to finding peace and security in the God who overcomes it all.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble." (v1) Spend time dwelling in his refuge and strength.
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