Thank you for worshiping

Someone thanked me for worshipping God last Sunday night.

It wasn’t just a “thanks for coming and worshipping with us”, it was an “I really appreciate your genuine and open heart during worship”. I don’t repeat this as a point of pride to flaunt around. But the moment has stuck with me for the last two days and this is why – because what someone else was thanking me for was actually a battle of the flesh versus the spirit. And as I was discussing this with a friend later that evening, it dawned on me how much of a testimony that is.

Leading people into God’s presence through music and singing and reflection is something that I feel I have been specifically called to for many years now. It is a position that I very much enjoy. It has also come to my attention that it is also a position that I can too easily take too lightly. It is no light thing to stand in the gap and draw people into His presence. It requires diligence and discipline on my part; a heart for God, an awareness of His people and a desire for the two to connect.

God’s been reminding me of this over the last week.

And not at all too soon, you see, because starting this month, my role as a worship leader is about to become much more demanding and all-the-more front-lined.

So Sunday night God put me back in my place. He reminded me of the importance of worship, drew out the foundations of worship, and then spelled out for me the purpose of my calling to lead others in worship. I spent the evening pressing in for forgiveness, begging for a glimpse of real worship, and at the end of the service I got a “thank you”.

Worship is real life. It’s not the music. It’s not a feel good moment. It’s not a two-hour service or even the presence of other like-minded souls gathering together. Worship draws us closer to that which we were created for and can be incredibly fulfilling – as it should be – but it’s not always easy, nor is it always fun. I was fighting. I was fighting laziness, busyness, complacency and even tradition. Someone else saw an individual with a heart that so desired God that they were willing to forego the awkwardness of new surroundings and unfamiliar people and dig in for the purpose of experiencing God right now. That is worship.