When You Don’t Connect With a Song

There are songs that speak to me. That I really emotionally connect with.  One of those songs is “Give Me Faith”, by Elevation Worship.

There are also songs that don’t do anything for me.  I won’t list them here, but you know the kinds of songs I’m referring to. They may be well written, but you don’t get those “feel good” feelings when you hear them.

So what do you do with those “unconnectable” songs?

You worship.

There is a song that was popular in the 90’s and early 2000’s called “Heart of Worship.”  Here are some of the lyrics:

I’ll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within,
through the way things appear,
Your looking into my heart.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
and its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
when its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

We have turned worship into a consumer idea- what reaches the most people, what sounds new and exciting, what sounds appeal to the public- when it isn’t about us at all.

Worship isn’t about us. It isn’t about our preferences, the “feel good” feeling we get, or what kind of mood we are in.  Worship is about God.

God wants all of us.  Despite what is happening around us He wants us to trust Him.  Despite what our feelings are He wants us to worship Him.

Brief Example:

I was on a men’s retreat not too long ago with a Presbyterian church.  I myself not fitting the “reserved” style of the Presbyterians was a little worried of how I would fit in.  During one particular worship session- a young, hipster looking guy around my age got behind the piano to lead us in worship. “Yes!” I thought, “We are about to have some authentic, organic worship!”

What followed was the most traditional Church style of piano playing I could have ever imagined.  Hymns that I had never even heard before. Phrases like “royal Diadems”, “Ebenezer”, and “hither” began to fill the room.  I was taken back and at first thought to myself, “I can’t worship to this…”  But as I looked around the room and saw the men singing praises to God, God hit me in the back of the head as if saying “Did I say this was about you? This is about me.”

I stopped singing. I didn’t know the words, so I stood quietly, with my eyes closed and hands in my pocket. I prayed and told God that although this wasn’t how I usually worshipped, I was willing to be stretched, knowing that I am not the reason for the worship, but the He is.

I never did get those “goose bump” feelings you get when you connect with a song that seems to be aimed right at you.  But that is okay- because it isn’t about me.  It is about obedience.  It is about God.  And I can say that I put my preferences aside, put my thoughts about what was “hip” aside- and focused on giving glory to the One who created music in the first place.

The reason we aren’t connecting isn’t because we can’t worship to it.  It’s because we say we won’t.  But when you put aside the preferences, incredible things happen.  You might not feel it- but that’s okay.  Worship isn’t about us.