Canaan Band in Columbus, GA
Every Sunday morning I wake up to my first cup of coffee and my mind is already full of songs. Songs that I will lead our congregation to sing. How do these songs flow together? Are the songs congruent in music, rhythm and words?
I know that seems silly, but it does make a difference to strategically design your Praise service as you’re led by the Holy Spirit, and as you engage your God-given musical skills and abilities. So, I ask the Holy Spirit to use me and guide me to bring the right songs each week.
One Sunday just recently, I was driving to church but felt out of synch. I just couldn’t hear anything definite in my spirit. I felt cold and indifferent. That worried me because I know what power there is in Praise & Worship music. I’ve seen people enter the doors on Sundays looking worn out and beat up from their world and the thoughts in their mind. And I’ve seen those same people begin to smile, clap their hands, cry, lift their hands and sometimes…yes… sometimes, I’ve seen them move their hips and their body with the music. All this, to glorify God. Isaiah 61:3 - He has given us beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
I believe so much in what music can do in lives, so it bothered me this particular Sunday, when I felt so unattached to what we were going to sing that Sunday.
Perhaps it was because I had been in corporate meetings all week and had many work-related things on my mind. Nevertheless, as I drove down the road, I prayed, “God, please help me today because I have nothing to give, nothing to sing, and nothing to share”.
And in that moment, so quietly and so calm, I heard HIS voice say, “OH YES! you DO!” You only need to stir up that gift Mel. It’s in your heart and down deep in your soul. Sometimes you just have to wake it up and allow it to come to surface.
So in those moments when we feel dry and distant, remember that the Spirit of God is ever-present in your soul. Just gotta stir it up. oh yes…you DO!
