Read His Words Before Ours!
1 Chronicles 16:23-34
Psalm 29
Romans 12:1-2
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise
The glories of my God and King
The triumphs of His grace
Sometimes, choosing to worship is the very last thing we want to do.
When we are struggling to worship with our one tongue, it’s difficult to fathom wishing for a thousand. I think if we’re honest, we all find ourselves here more often than we’d like to admit.
Sometimes, we may physically take a posture of worship, but
mentally,
emotionally,
psychologically,
we are not there.
Sometimes, we may even sing the songs and raise our hands, but we are shielding our hearts from Him. Bruised and battered by the painful reality that this world is not our forever home, we would be lying if we claimed to never grow weary of the spiritual battle.
No matter
the mountain we face,
the illness we fight, or
the loss we suffer,
the temptation to succumb to apathy and resignation pulls at us.
Choosing to shut down and close ourselves off to Him feels so much less scary than drawing near to Him in our weakness.
My gracious Master and my God
Assist me to proclaim
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name
Following the loss of our daughter, my choice to worship in the face of everything that tempted me to withdraw and turn away was…terrifying. Stripped down, broken and bare,
it was all I could do to hold tight to Truth.
I felt empty, fractured.
The draw to give in to numbness rather than stay open in worship and allow Him to shine Light on my hurting places was powerful.
But Jesus. My sweet, redeeming Jesus.
Jesus, the name that charms our fears
That bids our sorrows cease
‘Tis music in the sinner’s ears
‘Tis life and health and peace
The Spirit He placed within me cried out to worship Father for all the beautiful things that He is, even when I couldn’t see for all the tears streaming down. And you know what? He met me in that empty place. I gave Him my broken, and He held me. Holds me. Listen, loves: the most raw, real, heart-shaping times of worship I’ve experienced have always happened when I am at my most broken. And those sweet, precious times have instilled in me a hunger to seek those intimate places of worship humbly and often, and to lead others into those beautifully broken places with me.
He breaks the power of canceled sin
He sets the prisoners free
His blood can make the foulest clean
His blood availed for me
He speaks and listening to His voice
New life the dead receive
The mournful broken hearts rejoice
The humble poor believe
Sometimes, we feel like we can’t show God our broken, our anger, our fear, our mourning. It’s not that we think He can’t handle it, but we have somehow bought in to this subtle lie that we shouldn’t show Him our broken.
But when we try to hide our hearts from him,
we are forgetting something so crucial:
Without Him, we are only ever broken.
Every single one of us.
When we finally set aside our defenses and kneel, quiet and transparent before Him, we declare His sovereignty. We make room for Him to move in us and for us and through us, which brings glory to Him.
So tell me sister, what is your broken place?
Financial distress, failing marriage, abuse, addiction, loss, illness, anxiety, fear, depression? Whatever name you give it, know this:
There is nothing too broken for Him to redeem.
Jesus. Your Name is honey on my lips. Your Spirit is like water for my soul. The things I’m facing are too much for me, but they are never too much for You. Holy Spirit, when I am deep in my valleys and can’t see my way out, cry out within me. Rise up in me and embolden me to worship when I feel like it’s all I can do to stand. I believe You are good, no matter what else happens. I believe that You are God. You are the hope of the world, and I choose to worship You in every season.
(Lyrics from “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing” by Charles Wesley.)
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“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” is one of my favorite hymns. Thank you for this reminder to worship and be honest with God in our broken places.
It is such a good one, isn’t it?! “Being honest in our broken places” is not the easiest thing, is it? One day He will wipe away every tear… We look forward to that day with great joy!
Yes, we must be rooted in scripture to make it through each day.
It never creases to amaze me that when I fail to get in to the Word I ALWAYS find myself in such rough condition. A lesson many of us continue to learn.
Yes to all this! Sometimes my most broken times have been when I finally was able to worship Him properly – it took honesty and telling what was going on in my heart. Once I gave it to Him – He set me free from it.
Exactly what our Loving Father wants from us humble honesty before Him so that He might fill us to overflowing with His sweet presence! Oh for the grace to more quickly be honest in our brokenness!
You are so right, Sasha. Telling Him, honestly, what is going on in my heart…that is definitely one of the hardest things for me to do sometimes. We know full well that HE knows what goes on in our hearts, but that step of humility is hard taken at times. Bless you, sister!
I know that hollow feeling. I don’t know exactly how to describe it. Sometimes borders on cynical, like, I can’t sing these words and really mean them. But you’re right, the truth of God’s Word and the promises that He’s made to us are the only true comfort that we have. I’m sorry that you lost your daughter, but I am encouraged by your faith displayed throughout your sorrrow.
I’ve been there too, Rebekah, where I “can’t sing the words and really mean them”. So thankful for a God far bigger than my doubts, who is ready to be steadfast and true in the wake of my own unbelief. How faithful He is!
Peace be with you, Rebekah. I think we can all relate to that broken feeling. For some of us it’s loss, for others it’s illness, loneliness, anxiety, or any number of other things. So thankful for a God who lives to restore and revive His dear ones.
I am so sorry for your loss. We lost a son several years ago and it changes your perspective on so many things. I am glad you are finding solace in His word.
Thank you, sweet Dana. My heart hurts for your loss. They are part of us forever, aren’t they? I’m thankful that His father-heart knows loss better than anyone else ever could. There is no better Comforter. Peace to you, sister.
I think some of most heartfelt worship happened when I was the most broken. I felt communion and His presence greatly then.
It is so comforting to know that we can never be too broken for Him! Thank you for encouraging us!
What an incredible God to be able to use brokenness to bring us into intimacy with Him!
It’s incredible how He draws beauty from such fractured jars, isn’t it? His faithfulness never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for journeying with us!
Sometimes one of our pastors will give us a little background on the writers of the old hymns we sing on a particular Sunday. There are some interesting stories there.
Agree! The song becomes richer when we know the backstory
There are! I love learning the stories behind hymns and worship songs – it’s amazing the difference that human connection behind the lyrics can make.
This is so beautiful! We all have a broken place that needs mending that only God can give.
“Only God can give”
Precious truth
Amen, Keisha. Love serving a Father who loves to heal His kids.