Our Life Sings

Moments in time.

The instant we realize a truth that challenges us.

A conviction settling in that brings about a change in who we are or how we do something.

The thing that we do is worship.

We worship every day. Every single day.

What varies is what we worship. Our priorities display our worship. Whether it be good looks, fine clothes, cosmetics or hairstyles and nails... Hobbies... Education... Careers... the things that define us also display what we worship. It's not wrong to have incredible goals! A solid education can be used greatly in the lives of many! Hobbies are a wonderful part of life. Careers serve a responsible purpose. But who are we? What does our life worship mean?

There was a big buzz throughout my circles of friends and their acquaintances recently on facebook. Several musicians led worship, revealing where our hearts sometimes are. Sometimes. They sang songs that many Christians are familiar with, but changed up the words... I Surrender All became I Surrender Some. Instead of being in awe of God and His glory, singers sang about how they are distracted with their hair and clothes and their personal "glory". In the background you can hear some snickers. Some people were outraged at this! They proclaimed how inappropriate it was to take worship songs and change them up to represent the traps that many people fall into. Other people thought that this worship service brought a necessary, convicting message. Some pondered on how sad the reality is in our lives. We sing the words. But our lives demonstrate how much of those words we put into practice.

Now, I am not walking a line of judgement here. I am speaking to myself. From my own experiences. I've attended church with my parents as a young person and within 5 minutes of leaving church, listened to the arguing start... and thought, "Good grief, can't we just get along? Can't we practice what we just experienced in church?" Now, my parents have set a faithful example and I honor them. I am thankful to have a fine father, stepmom and mother. They each mean more than words can say. But, the reality was so "real" to me in some of those moments! We had just worshiped, looked at God's word, got into the car, and drove off... to turn right around and fuss and argue with each other!

Reality.

We are sinners. We hurt each other at times. We gossip. We lie. We take pride in ourselves. We have goals that are not at all inclusive of our faith (not always, but definitely some goals!). Or we have great goals with the wrong motivation.

Our lives are our worship. Not a 30 minute collection of songs on a Sunday morning or a worship service on a Friday night. Our lives.

Moments.

Moments that hit us... when we realize we are not living what we are singing.

As a teen singing "Jesus, be the Lord of all... Jesus, be the Lord of all... Jesus be the Lord of all the kingdoms of my heart" while in the back of my mind I was saying "All the kingdoms except this one over here... you can't have that kingdom".

Watching a worship video and the words, "I Surrender Some" convicting me. Knowing that I still trip up on that one...

Driving home from church this very morning and singing along with Darlene Zscheck...

"My Jesus, My Savior
Lord, there is none like you
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of your mighty love

My comfort, My shelter
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship you"

And there it is once more. All that I am.... Not some. All.... Worship. May all that I am never cease to worship Him. That means SO much!!! I don't want to sing the words and not live them out. That means that I forgive someone who offended me. That means I live out those words during the day. That means the choices I make should line up with worship.

And one morning in the week to come I will wake up and get irritated and snap at one of the boys... One evening I will make a self-centered choice and ignore my relationship with my husband... I will choose entertainment instead of prayer and devotion. And I will wonder why I don't overcome and change. And I will call upon God once more and ask Him to forgive me and help me. I will cling to Him and with His help, try once more to make better choices. And one great day I will enter God's Kingdom and the cycle will be broken. I will sing of His mercies forever.

Blessings to you. May you think carefully on the words that you sing this week and in weeks to come. May you mean what you sing. May you turn to our God, glory in the cross and give all that you are to Him. And may I do that, too.