It is amazing how many "things" in the American church seem to take precedence over the worship of God. It is amazing the things we will quibble over that are of very little importance compared to the worship of God. For many in the American church convenience transcends commitment to the worship of God the Creator and Redeemer.
It takes commitment for worship leaders to be prepared to lead worship. Commitment to preparation and to individual sacrificial prayer. Years ago I committed myself to being prepared in the best possible way to lead worship, as God gave me that opportunity. In Zimbabwe I became ill and was in the hospital with a bacterial infection in my lungs. After a few days several doctors stood in my room and informed me that it had moved into my blood stream and there was nothing they could do. That day I came to the surreal realization that I might not see home again. But as I walked in a beautiful courtyard garden area of the hospital that afternoon an unbelievable peace came over me. It was truly the peace that passes all human understanding talked about in Scripture. I came to realize that nothing transcends the worship of God. Nothing we do as believers in this life or the life to come. Whether here or there, it's about Him and the worship He is worthy of.
In Psalm 71 we find the prayer of an old man whose deepest desire was to worship the living God with all his remaining strength. The Psalmist says, "I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only." When I thought I had very little time left, life and the opportunity to worship became precious in a different way. Days later, those same doctors entered my room and said they had no explanation for the bacteria leaving my blood stream. We knew one. God wasn't finished yet. No matter our age, we don't know how much time is left. All of it is in God's hands. But for sure, nothing is more significant in our lives than our worship of Him. Nothing transcends the worship of God here or there. mjm
