"As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated."
2 Chronicles 20:22
Wow!!! Have you ever experienced this in your own life? Have you ever been surrounded by your enemies (stress, worry, confusion, despair, loneliness, sorrow, poverty, marital struggle, family struggle, etc) and began lifting your voice, singing his praise, worshiping the King...then slowly...or suddenly...it was as though the Lord set ambushes...he caused these enemies of your soul to turn on each other...he caused them to flee...he caused peace to flood them...overwhelm them...push them out of your life?
I have, once again, been thinking about the early days of my conversion...those amazing, miraculous times that I will always cherish. It never ceases to amaze me when I think about the gift that God redeemed...how in a matter of days I went from writing, singing and playing such dark, despairing "alternative" music to writing, singing, and playing WORSHIP!!! The psalms had come alive and they flowed out of me with new melodies that were literally effortless to create!!!
But that's not the most amazing part. The days that followed my first "encounter" with God were wonderful but soon turned very, very difficult. While it was truly a new life that I had been birthed into...the life I had left behind did not want to let go so easily....call it oppression, possession, depression, addiction...call it whatever you want...I call it warfare!!! The enemy did not want to let go and words cannot express the severity of this battle! Close friends and family know the anguish and the hardship I endured the first few years of following my Lord.
Wow!!! Have you ever experienced this in your own life? Have you ever been surrounded by your enemies (stress, worry, confusion, despair, loneliness, sorrow, poverty, marital struggle, family struggle, etc) and began lifting your voice, singing his praise, worshiping the King...then slowly...or suddenly...it was as though the Lord set ambushes...he caused these enemies of your soul to turn on each other...he caused them to flee...he caused peace to flood them...overwhelm them...push them out of your life?
I have, once again, been thinking about the early days of my conversion...those amazing, miraculous times that I will always cherish. It never ceases to amaze me when I think about the gift that God redeemed...how in a matter of days I went from writing, singing and playing such dark, despairing "alternative" music to writing, singing, and playing WORSHIP!!! The psalms had come alive and they flowed out of me with new melodies that were literally effortless to create!!!
But that's not the most amazing part. The days that followed my first "encounter" with God were wonderful but soon turned very, very difficult. While it was truly a new life that I had been birthed into...the life I had left behind did not want to let go so easily....call it oppression, possession, depression, addiction...call it whatever you want...I call it warfare!!! The enemy did not want to let go and words cannot express the severity of this battle! Close friends and family know the anguish and the hardship I endured the first few years of following my Lord.
“blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca (weeping) they make it a place of springs”
It was in those years and those difficult times that I learned to cultivate a deep, intimate, personal, secret, powerful life of worship. It is no exaggeration when I tell you that hour after hour, day after day, week after week...in every free second...I couldn't wait…I ran to be with my God!...in the secret place of the Most High...under the shadow of his wings...whenever I could....wherever I could...NOTHING ELSE MATTERED!...I had a nothing job and I didn't care. I couldn't wait to get off work to go and be with the Lover Of My Soul!!!...”my soul yearned, even fainted for the courts of the Lord…”
"my soul follows hard after thee"
I couldn't wait to get home and pick up my guitar and sing to him!!! And I sang and I played for Him!...for hours!...and I consumed his word. It’s all I knew to do...I didn't know how to pray! I just sang the psalms and he was always so faithful to meet me there...there was healing in his wings...and there was deliverance, sweet deliverance!…his presence was my delight!...he made my enemies scatter!...it was also in those times I learned the art of warfare in worship....my soul exploded with songs of praise! My instrument felt like a weapon and my voice, it seemed, thundered into the heavenlies…The enemy didn't stand a chance!!!...I was in awe, and I look back on those times still very awestruck...”he prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies”…he REALLY was my hiding place…”he surrounded me with songs of deliverance…he made me to lie down in green pastures…”
It was in those years and those difficult times that I learned to cultivate a deep, intimate, personal, secret, powerful life of worship. It is no exaggeration when I tell you that hour after hour, day after day, week after week...in every free second...I couldn't wait…I ran to be with my God!...in the secret place of the Most High...under the shadow of his wings...whenever I could....wherever I could...NOTHING ELSE MATTERED!...I had a nothing job and I didn't care. I couldn't wait to get off work to go and be with the Lover Of My Soul!!!...”my soul yearned, even fainted for the courts of the Lord…”
"my soul follows hard after thee"
I couldn't wait to get home and pick up my guitar and sing to him!!! And I sang and I played for Him!...for hours!...and I consumed his word. It’s all I knew to do...I didn't know how to pray! I just sang the psalms and he was always so faithful to meet me there...there was healing in his wings...and there was deliverance, sweet deliverance!…his presence was my delight!...he made my enemies scatter!...it was also in those times I learned the art of warfare in worship....my soul exploded with songs of praise! My instrument felt like a weapon and my voice, it seemed, thundered into the heavenlies…The enemy didn't stand a chance!!!...I was in awe, and I look back on those times still very awestruck...”he prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies”…he REALLY was my hiding place…”he surrounded me with songs of deliverance…he made me to lie down in green pastures…”
Day after day, he calmed my anxious soul…he eased the worry and the traffic in my mind…he walked with me in the cool of the day, in fact, that is just what I did. I couldn’t wait for my days off…they were spent ENTIRELY devoted to seeking him and he truly walked with me!…Jehovah Shamah, the Lord surely was there!
I carry these early years with me wherever I go and through whatever I encounter. Its interesting, I can drive around the many places in Oklahoma City and point out the "dark places" and the "dark things" I did before I met Christ...and...now...I can drive around the many places in OKC where I encountered Him and spent time with Him...and grew to know him...literal places where I learned to worship him, places where I learned to intercede for the church...the nations...Carol loves to tell the story of when we met, we would go to pray in the prayer chapel at Baptist Hospital...for hours...ugh...what a date!...I've since made it up to her!...she loved it though...
"Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
"Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
My desire never changes…whether I am alone with Him or before a congregation of people…my soul’s desire is to explode in honoring him, thanking him, loving him, remembering what he has done, and worshiping him for who he is…in Spirit and in Truth…my desire is that as we lift him up and praise him and worship him, he would set ambushes for our enemies, scatter them...destroy them!...they almost destroyed me!
I went to a Worship Leaders conference several years ago. Several worship leaders were there to lead the different services. One stood out to me among the rest. This person, Dave Ruis, was different…I’m not sure he knew the congregation was there! It was as though he was in his “prayer closet”…and we had been invited in to worship with him…there was no big show…no production…just worship…I am convinced his heart’s desire was to honor his King, just like he did when he was all alone...and to see his enemies be scattered!
My desire when I have led worship in the past is that I would never leave behind those intimate times and places that I had with my Savior. I tell people all the time...I don't have a beautiful voice and I'm no Phil Keaggy on the guitar...but I have been somewhere...a place I think the people of God want to go...a place the heart yearns and even faints for...the hidden place...the altar...the sanctuary of a mighty God...wanna go?!?
I have a bullet hole reminder. Warfare is everywhere. May we find the perfect balance of not giving the enemy too much attention for his wicked schemes;but never forget that he is lurking at every bend in our lives. Preach, teach, sing and pray it my sweet brother! I rejoice for our deliverance! Now, go hug Carol! :-)
ReplyDelete