Worship is an amazing thing, isn’t it?
We step into the presence of the living God, the One who has literally bled and died for us, and we kneel before him. While we normally do this through song, I think worship can also be silent. It’s a position of the heart. We lift Jesus up; we acknowledge his sovereignty in our lives. We bring our stains and our scars, dragging our baggage and our chains behind us. In the midst of our own defeat, our arms often tired from battles we’ve fought, we lift him up.
And from there, we see our own suffering begin to heal. We see chains broken. Scars mend and stains are washed away.
Lately I have been feeling anxious about a lot of things. Many things in my life just haven’t been going in the direction I thought they would. I do suffer from anxiety disorder, so that doesn’t help. There are nights when I lie awake because I can’t stop thinking about a conversation that went a little askew or a problem that needs to be fixed.
This morning, I woke early and picked things up off my floor so my roommate could clean my carpet. I had been anxious the night before, so I’d decided getting up early to get things done would be the way to solve the issue. Afterwards, I made a cup of hot cocoa and settled into the living room where I put on earbuds and played some worship music.
As I listened, even though I wasn’t singing along, I could feel my entire soul being pulled into the presence of the holy God. I felt an immense calm radiate through my whole being, which for me was a new sensation. During worship I often feel overwhelmed by emotion and will weep at the beauty and glory of the Lord, the benevolent love that pours out. But this time, I felt a calm deep in my soul. I have felt the peace of the Lord many times, but this was different somehow. It was as though his own hand had wrapped around me and held me still. And it was amazing.
It was exactly what I needed.
All my fears were swept away.
In that moment, nothing existed except me and the One who created me.
I felt at peace, because I knew that nothing could overcome my God. No problem I have is too big for him. And there was nothing to fear.
“So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people…” (Exodus 17:11-13, NASB)
Sometimes we have to struggle to hold our arms up, even enlisting the help of others so that we can remain steady. Remember that we are not meant to do this life alone. But that position of worship, that stance in our heart, is what gains us favor.
When we let down our arms, when we drop our guard, the enemy sees his opening for attack.
We must retain our position of worship if we want to see the promised victory in our lives. When we worship, we begin to see changes not only in ourselves, but radiating outward from us. We overflow with good things, spiritual fruits that feed into others.
So rejoice, beloveds! Victory is ours!
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