I wrote a song recently!
Some might say to me, “Yes but isn’t that kind of your role at church?” As one the pastors at Life Changers over-seeing youth and worship you would think that would come easy. Well yes and no. I am going to try and elaborate on this and my heart on worship in this current season.
Recently we have been doing a few in-house, home-grown songs at church, which has been fueling my heart, and I was keen to write a new one. I had a bee in my bonnet about this song however and was keen to write a faster, upbeat song. Experiencing His joy is something I love to do and wanted to write something that would release the same freedom for others too. So I put pen to paper and started writing. It was good, catchy and I liked it, problem was something was missing. It didn’t feel complete. At this point I put down the pen and paper and decided to go for a drive to clear my head and have a chat with God.
While driving, no music playing, just me and the silence, some questions began to arise. What is missing from the song? Why does it feel “empty”? What is this incomplete feeling about? Then another question dropped in my heart, who is God to me? This began to change my mindset a lot. The first few questions were all great but more about me and my song writing ability. That last question was all about God and who He is to me and why do I worship Him. All of a sudden there was a melody playing in my head and words to go with it, a complete song, which hardly ever happens. I began to feel His presence as I began to sing of who He is. It must have been a sight to see, Lee driving, singing, crying as His presence and who He is to me just sank in. Jesus Christ in me.
As I got home I walked straight past Kelly (my wife), and straight to the room. I picked up my guitar and began to sing and worship and write and thank Jesus for who He is.
One of my favorite worship moments in the bible is when Mary worships God just before Jesus is born. She was visiting her cousin Elizabeth, and as she greeted Elizabeth there was great joy from both pregnant women. Mary then begins to sing to God of who He is and what He has done. She began to worship God in her circumstance, in her situation, from where she was at. Unrehearsed, unpracticed, unhindered worship for her Father. Sometimes when life seems hard it is difficult to worship and yet here is a woman who is pregnant, not by her husband to be, probably frowned upon by many people and yet she worships in freedom knowing who her God is.
The second song that I wrote was in response of love to who Jesus is to me and what he is doing in me. That is what I want my constant worship to be, responding to who God is and how much He loves me. It is not a question of how can I worship Him better but what is my response to a God who loves me unconditionally, who forgives me completely and who has mercy for me daily. How can I respond in worship to an amazing Father. How can I worship as Mary did, no matter what the circumstance, in absolute surrender, unrehearsed, unpracticed and unhindered worship to a God who never fails.
Let’s become more lost in the Father so that we worship for Him, from Him and through Him, unpracticed, unrehearsed, REAL worship responding to a real God.
Lee Lubbee is on staff at Life Changers, over-seeing our worship and youth ministeries.