This is my very first blog post! I signed on to write this several months ago with zero prior experience in the blogging department yet, here I am! I thought it would be fun to stretch this part of my brain, so here goes nothing!
This blog has taken on many forms in my mind and with the topic of worship, I could go in any direction. Which I have until now. I would like to take the next 800 or so words to talk about a moment in worship that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, went way beyond what I ever thought.
The year was 2016 and I was tasked to sing in our worship services with the choir. At the time, I was working in our Worship Arts department (yes, I was the one who moved the TV for Mark every service) so singing with the choir on stage was not out of the normal. I actually find it freeing to worship with my church family. However, on this particular weekend, the choir special was a song called Chain Breaker by Zach Williams. So, as practiced, we sang that song together during the weekend services and that was that.
For those who need a refresher, the chorus talks about God being a Pain Taker, Way Maker, prison-shaking Savior, and Chain Breaker. All of which are true. The pain you may be experiencing right now from whatever the source may be, God is willing and able to take that on for you. If you’re currently running around in spiritual darkness and don’t know which way to turn, Jesus longs to show you the way back to Him. God does want to set you free from the things that bind you up and make you feel undeserving. The truths found in this song are a reminder that there is a God who loves His creation and He made a way for us to know Him and love Him in return, no matter the circumstance.
What I would like to share with you is what happened after that weekend. That song found many people in many different circumstances. Our church body is so polite and always ready with a kind word. During that weekend, many people were encouraged by that song and were very kind in their response. Honestly, I too was encouraged by their encouragement and kind words. Unlike most weekends, however, the compliments kept coming and thanks to the power of the Internet, the video of that worship song began to reach more and more people. Something that seemed so routine became something that had a lasting effect on many.
One story that came from this worship experience really put into perspective the way God moved through that moment. I believe it was sometime the next year, some nine to ten months later, that I was stopped by a lovely woman in our children’s building. She asked me if I was the one who sang that Chain Breaker song. With a slight grin on my face, I told her yes. I was not ready for what came next. She told me that just a week or so before that weekend, her father had passed away. In all the traveling and taking care of arrangements, mourning, and plane flights, the last thing they wanted to do was to go to church. Her son, who at the time was 10 years old, told her that he wanted to go. So, just a few hours after they returned home, the family came to the Saturday night service and sat in one of the back rows. She went on to say that they were all so tired, it was a miracle that they made it there period. When that song started, so did the tears. She finished her story by saying that as she was wiping the tears from her cheeks, she noticed that her 10-year-old son was standing with arms stretched wide and tears running down his face, singing and praising God. In the middle of her family dealing with such great loss, in that moment, she remembered that God had her family and would help them through this time. If her son could worship through this moment, so could she.
To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I had no words. She was super thankful for what God did for her family in that service and just wanted me to know. I thanked her and we both moved on about our mornings. It was only then that I realized that God used a seemly routine moment in my life to transform someone else. It was proof to me that the power of God exists in abundance even when we don’t experience it in the same ways.
I am continually amazed by a wonderful God who deserves to be worshipped by His creation. I am learning that worship is not to be taken lightly. I never really thought that singing was a talent that I should lean into, it is something that I can do so why not I am learning that small talents and big talents alike, God has given them to His creation for His glory.
Some eight years later, I still laugh a bit when someone mentions that service and that song but I do so knowing that people are still impacted by what God did. If I can leave you with any wisdom about worship it would be this … Sing every song and sing it like it matters. It may not be the style you prefer and you may not know the words but someone around you may need to see you worshipping through your mess so they can as well. We all have the ability to be used by God for something greater than ourselves. By serving, worshipping, teaching children, you name it. Your small worship moment may change someone else’s life. Your seemingly small gift can have a lasting impact on someone else. So, sing like you mean it—every song, every time!
