Gospel music absolutely blesses my soul. I’m the one who joins in with gusto, the song on the radio when I know the words. I will even lift my hands in praise and rejoice when the music moves me. I am being invited into something extraordinary! Praise has the power to draw us closer to Him. It shifts our perspective and reminds us that He is sovereign, faithful and totally good!
HEART POSTURE
Praising God shifts our thoughts processes away from the problems of the world, to the unique ability God has to love us unconditionally, accept us, and mold us into the people we are meant to be. It refreshes our spirits and reaffirms the truths about the God we serve.
And praise becomes a beautiful sacrifice to God because it demonstrates our heart posture. It defines dependence, joy and submission; and beyond that it’s an act of love and obedience.
YET, I CRIED
Yet, after my Charles passed away, music just made me cry. It didn’t matter if I heard it when I was alone, or in a sanctuary. I’d open my mouth to form the words and all that came out was a choke, and suddenly tears were flowing down my cheeks.
I wrestled with that for weeks. Many said, ‘it doesn’t bother us, cry if you need to cry!’ But I found it angered me on some level; it left me feeling embarrassed and ashamed… I felt like I was failing, like I wasn’t praising. I knew praising God is what we’re supposed to do…and I loved that, so why wouldn’t the words come?
JOIN THE CHOIR???
One of my Pastor’s from church suggested that I become involved in more activities at church during my time of grief. Many had asked me to join the choir and when I mentioned it to him, he thought it was great. “But,” I told him, “What if I get up there and all I can do is cry?” He reassured me it would be fine. Cry, Margie, just cry!”
I learned through all this that God accepts our tears, even as he heals the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 147:3) Those tears are our prayer. God wants nothing more than to tenderly heal our brokenness of a deep loss. He wants us to remember that His presence, promises and faithfulness are still sound and can be counted.
WE ARE DIFFERENT NOW
When we lift praise, even when grief presses us down, God accepts it. For us it feels like it’s all sorrow and can blur the purpose of worship. It doesn’t look at all like the praise we offered before. But we are different now. Our world is different. God recognizes that. When we can come to him, even in our pain, He is putting our ‘pieces’ back together again.
It isn’t about doing it right, or like we used to. It’s about the raw and real emotions we are having right now. It’s about surrendering those feeling to him. It’s how we heal! It keeps us connected to him, even while grief threatens to tempt us to withdraw.
DEFIANCE AGAINST DESPAIR
When we praise, it’s an act of defiance against the despair. We instead are declaring that loss and death will not have the final word! It anchors us to the truth that God is alive and well and we will eventually feel alive again, too. But He has victory over death! This defiance comes from relationship; it’s not about performance.
As we submit to Him, our heart reorients itself to the truth of who God is and reminds us He still holds us in his hands. God remains and promises to take care of us. This converts itself into praise, and we can hear him say, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
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