As we were singing in worship this past Sunday at our church, a noticed that my daughter Anna was sitting down and looking very defeated. I honestly don’t remember the specific song we were singing at the time, but she was not feeling it. It just didn’t seem like the promises and praises it was extoling God for were true, at least not for her.
Have you ever felt that way? Sometimes I get the feeling that the songs seem to be for people who have it all together. Do you know what I mean? There is nothing wrong with praising God for healing, saving, restoring, and freeing. He does! And it is important to do so. But it is also important to incorporate praise and worship as it comes from the heart that realizes it is still broken, that longs for healing yet to come, that is still very much at the mercy of its enemies, and that sings from the midst of chains that still hold it down.
After all, the Christian life is one of both/and, of now and not yet. One needs only to skim the book of Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Job, Lamentations, or Habakkuk to realize this is true. We don’t always keep our eyes on Jesus. We don’t always trust Him. We don’t always live like every day with Jesus is better than the day before. We don’t always keep the faith. It is one thing to say that we should do all those things. It is another to sing that we do, when we know that we don’t. Worship is best (in my opinion) when it comes from the heart that is real, that is honest, that longs for what it has tasted but does not yet fully have. Many of the worship songs I appreciate most are the ones that come from that place.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 
Thank you so much for this insightful and thoughtful post. I’ve been in services where songs have been sung that should have made me jump like I normally do. Did I jump? No. I sat quietly and clapped my hands softly. When it was time for my pastor to preach, he sang a song that touched my heart. Then his sixteen-year old daughter sang a song that hit me right where I was. It was about Jesus and me. It was about how He is loving me in the midst of all that I have been through and what He did for me, and all the love He has for me. As I just wrote those words, tears came to my eyes because I know He is with me now. I am so very grateful that I serve a right now God. He is forever with me. He is beside me. Above me. Behind me. Around me. He is not confined by space or time like you and I are. We are spatial beings. He is omnipresent–that is so wonderful! Praise the Lord!
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Thank you so much for sharing that. I am glad to hear that God has been taking such good care of you. That’s the God I know too. 😉
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As a worship leader myself, I really appreciate this port Dan. I have seen what you saw, and sensed what you sensed. It is my duty to listen to the voice of God and keep the worship going at the same time. He tells me when to switch to a different song and when to linger. It is hard to linger when everything in me tells me to move on because I don’t see the people reacting the way I think they should. But God knows what they need.
And you are so right about how we feel during worship. Choosing the songs to sing is always tricky. I always pray I listen c lose to His voice when choosing them, but I’m sure there are times I put my own choice in there as well. Something I need to hear right now! The new worship that is coming out is phenomenal and I need to work more of that into our services. But it’s hard with an older congregation. Everyone seems to just flow along with what we are doing.
Anyway, I loved this post. be blessed in all you do!
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Thanks Pete! I always appreciate your comments and insights. Everyone is going to be coming from different places so no song is going to hit everyone. I do think we often tend to songs that express how we are expected to feel. While there is help in doing that, we need to remember that we need to sing songs that are uplifting but songs that express our longing and need to be lifted up. If that makes sense.
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Makes all the sense in thecworld. I need uplifting a lot!
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👍 👍 👍 As do I!
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