I have probably sung hundreds of worship songs thousands of times. I might have meant what I was singing maybe half of the time. It’s not that I didn’t believe all the songs I was singing, but there were times where I was just singing to try to sound good, or just because I didn’t want to stand out as not singing, or I flat out wasn’t paying attention.
It is odd to me that in a specific setting and with a specific type of music, my heart and mind can be moved to openly and passionately worship God. It seems really selfish when I write that down.
About 2 years ago, in one of those specific settings, I was at a camp with a group of high school students having a great time worshipping God in a setting that I enjoyed. On the last night of camp, we sang a very familiar song, “How Great is Our God”. Like many times before, I sang this song loud, and well, maybe even harmonizing at times, but overall enjoying the song, the style, and even what the words were communicating. But what happened next was something totally new for me and I believe most of the people in that room…
During this week at camp, we had several speakers share about Reach4Life, a ministry to Africa that seeks to educate Africans on God’s call to abstinence and purity in hopes to fight the AIDS epidemic from another angle. We had heard stories, speakers, and figures to help us realize that this was actually going on while we’re living more comfortable lives…
During the middle part of this song a video began to show on the screen above the stage. It was an African kids choir and they began to sing “How Great is Our God” along with us, same key and all. The band continued to play, the lights dimmed, and we continued to sing along… man did we sing! What a powerful moment. In that moment, I believe I, and many others, were actually able to worship God in a selfless way that wasn’t dependent on the style, setting, or song. I worshipped God in a way I never had before. If kids in Africa can sing “How Great is Our God” with all that they face, then… He really is great. There we were in the hills of Central New York worshipping and singing about the same Great God with kids in Africa.
God is great not because of our circumstances, but in spite of them. No matter what we do, whether or not we choose to obey, or accept, or love… God is Great! God is great in Afica, America, Asia… God is not just the God of my life, my problems, my needs, but of the world. Even as I write this it fails to compare to the reality of who God is.
Worship is our response to what God has done… it has nothing to do with what pleases us or what we need to be in the right setting. It is a total surrendered and embodied “Thank You”.
God, how great You are.. thanks for letting me get a glimpse of that, even for just a moment.
