Worship with all of your heart, spirit and spleen.Ha!!
Food for thought…
I love to listen to my favorite artists and sing along with them at the top of my lungs. As a child, it never occurred to me that I might have sounded off key. No one ever told me differently. Based on my supportive parents’ comments, I could be the next Whiteny Houston and I believed it!! I would put on Whitney Houston and belt out those lyrics like I was giving her competition. As I grew up and entered into the world of primary school, secondary school and college, I realized that other people did not share my parents’ sentiments. I didn’t sound like Whitney Houston! In fact, not even close!! Not only did I realize that I didn’t sound like her, but worse yet, I wasn’t the one that received the gifts of music or singing. My sister did!! I couldnt’ believe it!! That was the height of unfairness!! Never mind I was saturated in other giftings. Never mind that I was in the choir at school and was even chosen to sing as part of a four part harmony on the radio!! That wasn’t the point!! I was supposed to have a great voice so that I could go on to be world famous!! Funny how our ideas of being famous might not translate into the path that we think it will take to accomplish this purpose.
Anyway, for a long time I stopped singing. Why sing if I felt like I was offending people with my voice. Noticed that I said, “I felt“!!! I especially didn’t want to sing around my extremely talented sister who even had her own recitals. She not only could sing, but could pick up pretty much any instrument and teach herself to play it. How did this happen!! I eventually picked up drums because at least I knew I had rhythm and the music was easy enough to read. I stuck with drums for awhile but then began to focus my energy into my other talents. I forgot about singing for the time being.
Years later after journeying with God in His Kingdom, He began to remind me of things that I enjoyed doing but had parked on the side for one reason or another. Singing was one of them. God had to bring me to a place where I didn’t focus so much on how I sounded, but that I enjoyed it and enjoyed doing it with Him. It allowed me to create an enemy free zone which is necessary when you are being bombarded with cares of this world.
I say all of this to say, I am on another incredible faith journey for another stage in my life (not that the other journey ever ended). Obviously, because of this new level, I was being slammed with a lot of negative things and distractions!!
Soooo…this morning, I decided I was going to put on my favorite CD ‘Britt Nicole’s Gold’, blast it
and sing at the top of my lungs. As I was contemplating this, I thought, the neighbors are going to think that I am nuts. Immediately as I had this thought, another one entered my mind..’ What does it matter what other people think? What does it matter how you sound to other people? People care about how you sound!! People care if you hit the right key; the right pitch; if you sound like Adele, Beyonce or a cat that had its tail run over!! God never ever comments in the Bible about the sound of anyone’s voice entering into worship, except to say that it is a sweet sound in His ear. This is not based on tone, pitch or whether they can carry a note, but on their heart.
Has anyone ever contemplated whether David in the Bible could sing? Did anyone ever compare his
voice to Josh Groban, Michael Buble or Frank Sinatra? No!!! Yet, he is the one that is known as the greatest worshipper ever!! A man after God’s own heart!! 2 Samuel 6:21-22 (NIV) 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone
from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
What does that tell us?
The next time you want to create an atmosphere of worship around you, an enemy free zone, whether it be in the car, your home or even in church next to the greatest singer, then do it!! You don’t get points with God because you can sing!! God will bask in your worship because it comes from the purity of
heart and just wanting to Glorify Him!! Worship Him!! Worship your Daddy God!! Worship Him with all of your heart, spirit and spleen!!!
