Song, as a form of worship has always been an encouraging part of our gatherings. As worship leaders and musicians, we need to examine our lives before taking a stage by asking these three questions? Are we taking the time to wait on God alone? Are we desiring to walk blamelessly before God? And are we remembering the poor?
[1] Waiting On God
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” [Psalm 27:13, 14 NIV version]
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” [Psalm 130:5 NIV version]
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, butwait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” [Acts 1:4 NIV version]
I had a young man come up to me years ago after a meeting. He said, “Michael, I want to play music in front of thousands of people.” I replied to him with this question. “Are you willing to go into your bedroom and play before God, just you and Him?” He answered, “No.” I was quite taken back by his answer. A lot of musicians in the Church today are looking for a public platform, and this is something that I have struggled with over the course of my journey. If we would realize that we all have a platform, we would eliminate so much of our striving and selfish ambition. Our platform is before the King of Kings. This platform may be in our living room, or it may be in front of thousands of others worshipping. I believe that every musician is called to minister before God, in a secret place, waiting on Him.
My journey in music started with a band called Flood. We lead the praise at our youth group faithfully, and soon began to accept invitations to play at other Christian gatherings. We were selling records, getting label interest from America, and having a great time playing songs that we loved. A few years later, some of the opportunities to travel and play were drying up and I found myself looking for employment. I had worked at my church in the security department in years previous and thought this might be a good job for awhile, until the music picked up again. So, I began this job and while being re-trained, I was told that the position now involved some janitorial duties. At first I was disappointed, but I soon realized God had given me this job to teach me many things, one of which was how to wait on Him.
One night, while vacuuming the floors of the facility, I found myself singing songs to God. There was such a peace that washed over me! I was again reminded that it did not matter who was in front of me, it was my duty to offer up praise to God in any situation. I made the choice to wait on God joyfully, while vacuuming floors. The Lord taught me that waiting on Him was to serve others with joy and humility. If you desire to serve your Church in music, then get involved with serving in other areas as well. It is well worth it, and God is honored. A few years later, while working as a worship leader at my local church, my wife and I felt the Lord lead us to resign the position. God then told me that my new job was to sing before Him alone, at home. There may have been some questions as to how I would support my family financially, but when God speaks, it is best to listen and obey. So, I set up my keyboard up in my laundry room, and began to spend time alone, waiting on God. These times were very, very intimate. I didn’t really feel anything, I just knew I was in my Father’s arms, and in His will. There’s no better place to be! After three months of soaking in His presence, I found my dreams of traveling becoming a reality once more.
God is looking for the obedient and the willing hearts, not the strong. We know that in our weakness, He is made strong. We also know that God has always used the foolish things in the eyes of men to confound the wise of this world. Gideon knew this very well when God cut his army of thirty two thousand men down to three hundred. I could have easily said to God after resigning my job, “Lord, I am going to find a job serving at a restaurant, go to music school, and then see the doors open up.” There is nothing wrong with any of these things, yet, this was not for me. Had I not obeyed and waited on the Lord, I may have missed out on my call for this time.
This article is part one of a three part series by Michael Larson on the Call to Worship…part 2 coming soon!