In our worship yesterday, we sang – “If you curse me then I will bless you, If you hurt me I will forgive, And if you hate me then I will love you, I choose the Jesus way.” (Jesus Way, Phil Wickham) It is a great song, one that is tops on my list of those we learned in church this year. (Jesus Way – link here)
As I sang the words, I asked myself if I really understood the depth of the commitment of which I sang? Was I ready to forgive, ready to bless, ready to love?
When we sing
of our desire to love Jesus, when we tell Him in song that He is all we desire,
that He is more than life to us, I believe we need to reflect carefully.
Are we singing truth or merely mouthing words?
How about our public prayers?
Are they an honest reflection of our heart,
our faith, or are they just nice phrases formed around creating good
feelings.
When we sing about aspirations about which we have not really thought, if we
pray without passion, we show disrespect to the Lord of Life. What if our awe of Him was such that we actually
wept over our sins, celebrated our victories, and honestly brought our doubts,
fears, and temptations to Him?
Worship that is only shaped by platitudes becomes a Band-Aid™ covering our soul wound without letting the Spirit do His healing work.
The Bible warns about the offense of insincere worship.
"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. … When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. … Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, NIV)
Awe! I believe that it is the most neglected part
of true worship in our noisy busy gatherings, marked with swirling graphics,
videos, and lack of silent breaks. All
the noise will make us spiritually deaf!
Francis Chan in Forgotten God, writes – “A little bit of spirituality
added into our lives is not what God has in mind. … Jesus’ call is to radical
faith, to be willing to suffer anything and forsake everything for the sake of
Gospel.” Real spiritual hunger will lead us to worship that is deeply dependent on the
Spirit, which listens carefully for His direction because we know we cannot
live as He desires without Him.
I understand
the impulse to talk faster and louder when anxiety overtakes us, when things go
terribly wrong, or when we cannot understand why. There are moments when we encounter our uncertainties
and we tend to bravely babble on mistakenly thinking that IF we say the right
things often enough or loud enough, we can somehow make them happen.
Better to take a lesson from a suffering saint of the Old Testament named Job.
Though a man in right standing before God, the Lord allowed him to lose
everything. Even Job’s best friends concluded that all the tragedy must somehow
be his fault, the result of some secret sin. Job patiently sat through their
sermons and even took the ranting of his wife, who urged him to ‘curse God and
die’ in stride.
Then one day Job could take it no more and he challenged the Almighty to
explain Himself. In so many words, Job
said, “Lord, I want vindication. What kind of God are you anyway?” Then, he listened. I love this verse: “I am unworthy—how
can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no
answer— twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:4-5, NIV)
Job showed
ultimate respect to the LORD by silencing himself, by setting aside his own
demands – “I put my hand over my mouth!”
He abandoned words to stand in awe.
He never really got an explanation, but he found an answer in the wonder
of God’s transcendent Presence.
I pray that I will love my heavenly Abba better and more deeply.
My prayer this morning is
“Lord, help me to
show You more respect, by listening more and saying less.”
Here’s a
word from the Word. Live it. “My dear friends, as you have always
obeyed … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
(Philippians 2:12-13, NIV)
Our need is less about a solution or even relief. The Presence of the God
changes us if we will engage with Him, standing before Him in awe.
______________
(Video
of this blog at this link)
If you curse me then I will bless you
If you hurt me I will forgive
And if you hate me then I will love you
I choose the Jesus way
If you’re helpless I will defend you
And if you’re burdened I’ll share the weight
And if you’re hopeless then let me show you
There’s hope in the Jesus way
I follow Jesus I follow Jesus
He wore my sin I’ll gladly wear His name
He is the treasure He is the answer
Oh I choose the Jesus way
If you strike me I will embrace you
And if you chain me I’ll sing His praise
And if you kill me my home is heaven
For I choose the Jesus way
I choose surrender I choose to love
Oh God my Savior You’ll always be enough
I choose forgiveness I choose grace
I choose to worship no matter what I face
I choose the Jesus way
I choose the Jesus way
I choose the Jesus way
I choose the Jesus way
Oh I choose the Jesus way
Jonathan Smith, Phil Wickham © Be Essential Songs; Cashagamble Jet Music; Phil Wickham Music; Simply Global Songs CCLI License #810055
