Friday, October 17, 2008

Music only goes so far...

Lately I've been rediscovering the value and joy of approaching God with music. For quite a while singing in particular had, to some extent, lost flavour and sense of purpose to me (playing the cello on the other hand involving my body, soul, mind, everything seemed to be another matter altogether but I won't talk about that here). It seemed kinda odd considering the fact that I am an avidly music-loving enthusiastic musician and it moves me like nothing else. It bothered me a little at first but I think I needed to go through that as was in mid-realising that worship, real worship is a life thing, not a music thing, or a "worship time" thing. I am trying (though often forget) not to call times when we praise God using music "worship" because I am utterly convinced that worship is so sooo much more than just musical praise or what happens at an organised gathering of God's people. It should encompass, or rather just be our whole lives.
But over the last couple of months I’ve found purpose and joy in it again, though I couldn’t have put words together before to explain why that was the case. Through reading bits and pieces and having chats with various folk of varying opinions on topics such as whether we should sing songs that make promises like “I’ll give you everything” that we’ll never keep, I've realised that perhaps it’s my whole approach has changed drastically.
I think before, I wanted to praise God with my heart when I sang or made music to him. And I still do, but now so often I find myself thinking and praying, while I sing, that what I'm playing/singing wouldn't just be good music or half-felt words. Taking the example of lyrics like “I’ll give you everything” etc: I still find those songs difficult to sing but instead of singing them and making those promises, I find myself challenged by them, reminded that this is the only fitting response to such an incredible grace-gift, and while singing (if I’m switched on!) I ask Him to help me give my whole life completely over as worship, even if it is going to be a long and pain-staking process. Songs like that are becoming my prayers, and I was going to put there, "rather than praise" but actually I think that is as much praise as any kind of joyful jubilant rejoicing because it involves acknowledging that He is great and worthy of my whole life. So I find my first priority in music is becoming honesty rather than conviction in praise. Yeah… I think that’s what the change is. I think that must be what has made me fall in love with musicing to God again.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

Beautifully put, Dish. I've been through the whole "not calling times of praise 'worship'" thing, but my eventual decision was not to avoid it, because it's not like these times are not worship. Calling such times 'worship' does not have to limit our understanding of how much deeper and more life-involving worship is...

Refusing to call them 'worship' it seems to me, demeans them to something more mundane than they are, or at least can be. We may, and should, worship God with our whole lives, but coming before him with a group of others and expressing our love of him and thankfulness for his mercy is a very focussed time of worship.

Nice writing, once again :-)

Dish said...

Interesting thoughts! Hmmm thinking I'd like to call it "musical worship" so that I don't start deluding ourselves into thinking that is all worship is but then don't belittle those times either...
Oh and thanks for the complimentary comments! I'll only consider publishing bible notes if you publish a travel book!