The Spirit Vs The Kick Drum: Part 1

If I am honest it is sometimes painful to truly engage my heart in the worship of my creator. Even to myself this sounds like a negative statement but I have come to understand that pain is not all together bad.

Let me give you an example:
Pain #1 Taking a bullet from a gun is painful. There is nothing good about being shot with a gun. Ignoring the bullet inside of you and leaving the bullet in you body could be deadly and poisonous. The bullet must be removed.

Pain # 2 Removing the bullet.

While both pain #1 and #2 are…well painful, one is bad while the other is vital to maintaining life.

Again, if I am honest it is sometimes painful to truly engage my heart in the worship of my creator. It is possible to enter into and leave a worship service and never experience God. We can make statements and not mean them, we can sing songs without conviction and we can take communion but never have communion with God. This should not be. I am guilty at times and I am sure I am not alone. This isn’t a specific contemporary church music culture thing; it is a human nature thing.

Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: 

"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

I think pain can play a bit of a role in our lack or desire to dig deep and allow God to do a work in us. If you have a pulse, then you have sinned and need Jesus. This sin is like the "Pain #1" I spoke of earlier. The healing process begins with "Pain #2" when the poison is removed from our bodies. God wants to remove the poison... the bullet. During worship we interact with God, when we interact with God we are confronted with our depravity and our neediness. Our limited understand of life’s paradoxes are made aware to us and if we surrender God can use this time to heal us as we worship and bring Him glory. This surrender leads to freedom but it can be painful.

Colossians 1:16 “All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Sometimes “spirit and truth” does not define our worship because we are in pain and we won't allow ourselves to surrender to be healed. In truth, the act of worshiping God can be the very thing that God wants to use in your healing.

Prayer: God do not allow me to make the mistake of just singing songs in church today. I want to experience your healing and because I know I was made for and by you, I want to bring You glory through my worship. You mystery is beautiful and your grace underserved. Help me to bless you today in “spirit and truth”. Amen.