WORSHIP IS MORE THAN A SONG
Wow, it's incredible how fast time goes by. I know I'm still lacking in posting, but God always has a grip on my heart and continues to bring me back here. I want to share another devotional that I've been working on and been building the courage to share it. To be honest, the best thing that keeps me accountable is leading and sharing with my small group girls. This devotional is quite different for me, but I love it!
This devotional was inspired by the song "Clear the Stage" by Jimmy Needham. The song talks about how no matter how much we sing praise and worship songs, if we continue to keep idols in our hearts then our worship is basically meaningless. God wants a worship with our full surrender to Him and He deserves it. This is a great song and you should give it a listen down below. You can also find the lyrics here.
Every week in my small group bible study, that we called Sisterhood, we try to have different girls share a devotion. A devotion is basically anything that relates back to God. Examples could be sharing your favorite bible verse, your favorite worship song, your personal testimony, or playing an activity. The possibilities are endless and the only thing required is that it relates back to God. So, this week I wanted to try something different and creative. I wrote my first ever spoken word poem.
Yes, this devotional is inspired by the Jimmy Needham song, but it is mostly inspired by my struggle and experience growing up in a church as a young Hmong girl. Sometimes the image of trying to be perfect and trying to please everyone gets too much and you begin to search for selfish desires that continue to fail to make us happy. I've always loved poetry and wanted to express myself in a new form. I enjoy spoken words becasue it's so personal and it doesn't matter if people are able to understand it becasue you do. Well, I hope you guys enjoy it and hopefully sometime soon I want to record myself reading it, so you can hear the raw emotion of my voice. So, here it goes...
Worship Is More Than A Song
Worship is more than a song
When I sing it doesn't matter what I sound like
It doesn't matter what I hear
It doesn't matter what I sing or say
All that matter is what's in here (heart)
Worship stems from the heart
Not the voice, not the hands, not my gifts but my heart
Because you see when I worship I do it for the Lord
I feel Him on my soul, on my lips and my hands
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 15 verse 8 and 9
“These people honor me with their lips,
But their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
Their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
What more can I say, but God knows our heart
We sing songs of praise, give in times of need
Pray in times of desperations and preach in times of joy
But does any of that matter when we are far from Him
We need to fully surrender in order to truly worship Him
But don't get me wrong, my worship was not always perfect
Because if you could see the thoughts in my mind
Then you would understand it
That I volunteer to help at funerals,weddings and parties
For my name, for my face to be recognize as that perfect “nyab”
I did things, said things, only to gain my own fame
But if it wasn't for him
For Him who died on the cross
For Him who stole my punishment of life in the flame
For Him who bought abundant amounts of grace
For Him who loved me with all my flaws
Cause you see if it wasn't for Him
I would still be standing here in my own fame
Wondering why I was still in so much pain
Because when you start to realize that things are not as they seem
You search for the truth of things unseen
I reached out and grab to the one who seen
Who seen me struggle in my own selfless gain
Who seen me as I sat alone with wrist in pain
Who seen me cry in darkness wondering who would care to see me again
If I left my seat of unworthy breath
Cause He who has seen me, knows me and calls me by my name
Child of God, precious child, heir to the throne
Cause He who seen gives me worth
So don't be blinded by the things you see
Don't be blinded by the things you hear
Because let me tell you friend
Behind every happy face is a person living in fear
So let me go back to where I started
Worship is more than a song
When I sing it doesn't matter what I sound like
It doesn't matter what I hear
It doesn't matter what I sing or say
All that matter is what's in here (heart)
Worship stems from the heart
Not the voice, not the hands, not my gifts but my heart
Because you see when I worship I do it for the Lord
I feel Him on my soul, on my lips and my hands
So, there you have it. If you made it this far down, THANKS!!! I hope you were able to understand how God continues to pursue us even in our selfish desires and how much He loves us even when we feel like giving up. He knows our intentions and we need to let go of every idol and truly surrender our hearts to Him. We need to feel Him on our soul, on our lips and our hands. Let me know what you thought by commenting down below and until next time God Bless!!!