Worship: the language of the heart

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me. —Psalm 13:5–6

If I have a love language, it has to be music. As a song writer, music was a way to express what was going on in my own heart. And I think this is why I especially love songs of worship, because they remind me of the goodness of God.

They remind me:

• • That he is almighty: he can overcome any obstacle.
  • That he is all-knowing: he knows every option and solution, and
  • That there is no place that he isn’t: he is everywhere at once.

The reason I need these reminders is that I easily forget God’s goodness. And it is easy to see my difficulties through these same lenses.

• That my difficulties are insurmountable. They can’t be overcome.
• That there is probably no solution to deal with them.
• That my difficulties follow me wherever I go. It is so easy to view the difficulties of life in these categories.

That is why it is so important to remind ourselves of who He is: that in his power and wisdom, he is able to take care of all these things. But then Jesus takes it a step further—by putting God’s capabilities in perspective.

More than just God, Jesus calls him our Heavenly Father. More than being all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere at once, he is a Father—the best kind of father. And that he is actively involved in our world for the benefit of his children.

Based on Psalm 13, the verse that opens this post, here is what we know to be true about God:

His love is unfailing, so he is trustworthy. Difficulty in life is a given: you and I will suffer hardship in this life. But we can experience his unfailing love that follows and keeps us through the most unfathomable circumstances. In fact, because of his wisdom, he can take even what someone else may mean for evil and use it for good. He is worthy of our trust.

His Salvation brings me joy. When we follow Christ, we know that the past is forgiven, the present is in his hands and the future is secure. The fact that he is trustworthy extends to all parts of my life: past, present and future. Paul the apostle, essentially, put it this way: “What is the worst that can happen? In this life I have Christ, and if I die, it is even better!” So, his salvation covers every part of our life—even to the world to come.

His goodness makes me sing. It’s a gratitude “feedback” loop. I used to do a lot of live music and if the microphone began feeding back, the sound tech had to pull the mic fader down, or the feedback would continue to get louder and louder. This same feedback loop happens (in a good sense) in worship. He is good to me, so I praise him. And as I do, I discover more and more reasons to worship. This is a life of worship: a recognition of his goodness that we experience here, and the promise of what is coming in the world to come.

One of the weird habits we developed in the pandemic is the habit of isolating. Isolation has its place, but if you find it easier to stay at home and just watch Netflix then it is time to break the habit and get together with others—especially for worship.

There was a period of time in my life that I worked on Sundays (it lasted only a few months), and I remember the spiritual dryness that I experienced during that short time because I missed worship.

Don’t miss the opportunity to worship with God’s people starting this weekend. Worship truly is the source of his sustainable joy in our lives.

Is there a song that reminds you of his goodness to you? Share your favorite song, either on this blog or one of the Social Media platforms you found this on. Would love to hear what your favorite song is.

Bill Herried is lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma, Washington. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. He is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren and loves a good biryani. You can learn more about Bill on his blog, Your Daily Encouragement

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay