A couple of weeks ago, mom ordered a book for me called, The Divine Dance, by Shannon Kubiak Primicero. In this book, it talks about the ways that we sometimes let the world get in the way of our worship. As a teenager, it is way too easy to get into the habit of just "going through the motions." But when we worship, we should search deep into our hearts, giving all that we have to God. Worship is a precious act. It is our way of showing God how much we love and adore Him.
So, now I want to point out a couple of things that I have learned from this book. Remember, this is a book about dancing, so I will need to change some of the words around to make it fit. :)
1. "As you dance from your soul for God who created you, you will be consumed with worship."
So, let's put this into context for a Praise Band...
As you sing praise from your soul for God who created you, you will be consumed with worship.
That's a little better for us! I loved this quote when I read it in the book... Because when I began thinking about it, I know that it is so true. Yes, I am a teenage girl, so yes, I do worry about what I look and sound like on stage. I have also been a competitive dancer for 15 years. I have been trained to perform, to make the audience love me, but when we lead worship, it is much more special than just how it looks or sounds. While those things still are very important, it is our job, as worship leaders, to make the crowd fall in love with the Author of Love. We must throw away the superficial and present to God our hearts, showing Him our love. When we offer our hearts to God and forget about the world around us, we can become consumed in worshipping Him, and through that, bring others to see what worship is truly about.
2. "You are to worship God so boldly that the whole world will want to worship Him."
So, I don't have to change this one, and I am glad, because it is my favorite quote from the entire book. This quote has become my life motto of sorts, in so many more ways than I had thought. Of course the obvious that one might take from this quote is how we worship in front of people, but what about behind closed doors? What about when things just aren't going our way? What about when you've just had a rough day? What about when you're in the operating room and the doctor tells you that you have a 100% blockage of the arteries and veins going to the right side of your brain when you move your arm not even 45 degrees? What about when your body is racked with severe spasms, and you are ashamed to be seen? What about when God shows me that I won't be continuing to dance, to do what I had a passion to do for my entire life? Sometimes it is so hard to worship God in all situations. For me, it is so much easier to get on stage and sing praise, not having to think about the hard stuff. However, in that OR, I am not going to lie; it was hard for me to keep saying, "Whatever happens, to God be the praise! He knows what He's doing!" when all I wanted to say was, "God why are you doing this to me? Can't you fix this already?"
I feel that the book of Job coincides wonderfully with this quote. The way that Job was so bold and unwavering in his worship of The Lord. Job 1:20 says, "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped." Wow. God had taken every single thing away from Job (not just dance) and he STILL worshiped. When reading these things, I find it easier now to say, "to God be the praise" for whatever may come of this injury. When we are bold in our worship, no matter whether we are on stage or in the privacy of our homes, when we worship with boldness no matter what our circumstance, just like Job, we will make others want to worship as we do. That's our main objective, right? To lead others into a bold, more powerful time of worship.
3. "Show the world that music is so powerful that it can stir both God's heart and people's hearts simultaneously."
We can use our music to move the hearts of people, and we do that by moving the heart of God. For example, when we sing "Victor's Crown," I know that I can feel the presence of God moving among the people of our church. When singing that song, I feel that I am pouring out everything I have, because it is a fairly large song. Now, that isn't to say that we shouldn't give as much on the smaller songs, but we should apply the same amount of "pouring out our praise" to every song. By offering the most praise we can, whenever we can, God's heart is moved; therefore, people's hearts are moved. Personally, I feel the best worship is right then and there. That moment, when we pour every last drop of our being into our worship, we, through our music, have helped lead others into communion with the heart of God.
So, I hope that you all are able to get something from this. I haven't ever blogged before! (So I hope it isn't terrible!)
I just thought that I would share the ways that I am trying to grow in my worship experience, and I hope they can help to grow yours.
Have a blessed day!
Savannah
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