Continued from “It is for freedom...Part 1”
Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
So if we believe this, if we own it, if we hold desperately to it, then what could our lives be like?
There could be no limits to our worship of God, our relationships with God and others, and our reach for God.
Why do we worship God? I had not thought too much about this until a few months ago. I had boxed worship into mostly something that we do through singing and saying thank you when “things work out”. Well I don’t believe that is it at all. Those are things we do as a result of who God is and that is why we worship him. We worship God because of who he is. Period! Revelations 4:11 tells us God is worthy. Psalm 96:9 tells us He is holy and beautiful. Isaiah 12:4 says to give praise and that His name is exalted. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see if you can talk to God about who he is without mentioning yourself. Search the Bible to discover all the characteristics of God and why he alone is worthy of our worship.
I went to a college student conference over new year’s eve in 1998-99 in Atlanta, GA. I ended up going by myself because the friend I rode with got sick right after we arrived. The Impact Movement is the organization that put on the conference and it is predominately an African-American organization. So along with being by myself, I was one of a small handful of Caucasian students in the crowd of about 2,500 students. I had to room with 3 girls that I had never met before in my life. It was an incredible experience. My roommates were very gracious and I spent lots of time with them. I also learned how to get over myself and worship God because I felt his spirit moving in that place. I believe it the first time I ever raised my hands during worship music. One of the speakers spoke on the crucifixion in great detail in a way that made me feel like I was at the foot of the cross watching it all happen. He kept saying “don’t look away, it’s not finished yet” as he described everything that Jesus went through. People started walking to the front of this enormous room in response. I started to go too. God was asking me to respond to who he is and not give in to a fear of what other people would think of me. So many went forward I only made it into the isle, but it was incredible to experience God and that week has forever changed me.
The Bible describes a lot of ways that we can express our praise to God. Our English translations boil it down to one or two words that give a rather limited view of how we should worship God. In the book “Fresh Air” by Chris Hodge he describes 7 different Hebrew words for our word “praise” that have helped me better understand how to worship God.
Hallel - Psalm 22:26 - Get excited about God, celebrate, brag, get silly about Him
Yadah - Psalm 138:1 - put our hands up in public to acknowledge the greatness of God
Barak - Psalm 103:1 - kneeling before God to show our thankfulness and be humble
Zamar - Psalm 150:3-5 - make music to God - with instruments and be loud
Shabach - Psalm 63:3-4 - shout, holler, be loud for God - he wants to hear us and be heard by others
Towdah - Psalm 34:1 - raise our hands to receive from God - trees stretching branches for rain
Tehilah - Psalm 34:1 - exuberant singing
Do you let yourself worship God in any of these ways? I have to admit it has taken me a long time to get over myself and my fear of what others might say or think so that I can just respond to God. It is so freeing and I am thankful that God has been so faithful to guide to a place where I can worship him for who he is. He is still working on me though. It is easy to get shy and uncomfortable and "refuse" to worship him freely.
My favorite worship story to date took place at my Grandpa’s funeral in May 2009. We had gathered in the little old country church where he and my Grandma had attended in the recent years. It was hard for me to even go home because this was a day I had dreaded for a long, long time. He was my favorite grandpa and the first grandparent to die since my great-grandma when I was a young child. I knew I had to go, and ultimately I felt led to speak at the funeral. My dad (this was his dad) had planned to read a poem also. He mentioned something a few times about me standing with him. I didn't think that would work very well considering I had trouble looking at him without crying. He started to read his poem and he was struggling to get the first few lines out. In complete response to the Holy Spirit picking me up out of my seat, I ran [not walk fast but actually running] to the stage to be with him. It is a bit funny as I remember because I was wearing heeled sandals which hit the old wooden floor hard with ever stride. I held him tight as his voice grew stronger and he read that poem. I have never experienced such perfect brokenness as I did in that moment. Then it was my turn. He stood by my side. As I spoke I knew God's strength had consumed me and I felt strong and empowered by the song lyrics I read [as a prayer.] As I had prayed many times before, I believe God was glorified with our time yesterday and I was able to worship him through one of the most difficult days of my life.
We sang my Grandpa’s two favorite hymns, “In the Garden” and “Amazing Grace” to close the service. I raised my hands in praise (towdah) to God as rivers of tears flowed down my face.
To be continued...
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