It was Palm Sunday, and we were ready to celebrate. The masses were assembled at Lifesong Worship Center, and the worship team was ready to play the first chord of what surely would be a joyous celebration of Christ’s return. I had prepared a message that would surely touch the heart and change the mindset of those that attended. However, the mindset that was to be changed that morning…mine!
No sooner had the worship team played but a few chords of the opening song that all the power went out within the hotel. When I say the power went out; I mean everything. The lights, the sound, the air conditioning…everything went out. All you could here were the acoustic sound of the drums, and faint guitar chords emanating from Mark’s acoustic. Instantly the team scrambled. Unsuccessfully they searched for the cause. The power flickered on for a moment, but to my dismay, turned right off again. I began to grow very uncomfortable as I thought of the crowd that sat behind me. All had come with an expectation of having an awesome experience in the Lord, and we were giving them nothing but drums and an acoustic guitar.
“God Help Us!” I uttered under my breath. And help us He did.
Seeing that there was no hope in solving the solution, the worship team reacted brilliantly. As Mark continued in worship (with his voice and acoustic), another member of the team (Sean Brage) grabbed an extra acoustic guitar to help support the acoustic vocals that belted out praise to God. Suddenly it happened. You could hear the sound of the congregation rising as they surpassed the awkwardness of the moment and decided to worship. The sound of the church was amazing. I couldn’t remember the last time I had heard a congregation over the sound of the band. It was as if the guitars were of no consequence, and the worship of the people took over. As I took the pulpit to share the message, the light was so dim I couldn’t even see the notes I had prepared to teach. So I said a prayer, and off we went. I preached from a place that could only be found in the absence of human preparation. It wasn’t the best message I had ever preached, but I could say it was one of the most honest ones I have ever shared. As we concluded the service in the natural light that was let in by the windows of the building, I found an honesty with the Lord that is so easily missed in the elaboration of our “energy-filled” services.
I was reminded of Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
Be still! What does it mean to be still? I tend to think it means turn off everything around you, come to a place of rest, and reflect on who He truly is. How often does that happen in our lives? How often do we isolate ourselves from every source of interruption (including our thoughts) and think of who He is and what He can do? I would tend to think not often enough. As I went in to pray this week, I turned on some of my favorite worship music (as I usually do) to pray. I felt the Lord prompting me to turn it off. I just heard “Be Still”. He spoke so much to me that day!
Lifesong will always remember that day. It was glorious. Although we lacked some of the tools, His anointing was as strong, if not stronger, than we have ever experienced. Sometimes I wonder if God is waiting for us to shut up long enough for Him to speak. Sometimes I wonder if we fill our time with Him with other things because we are afraid of what He might say if we give Him a chance.
I encourage you, sometime this week be still and know that He will be glorified above the earth…Be Still!
Bordering On Arrogance 