Feeling a Little Distant from God? Stop Thinking. Start Singing!
(Read or Click Here to listen to the Podcast)
Come, let's shout praises to God, raise the roof for the God who saved us!
Let's march into his presence, singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!
Psalm 95:1-2
Have you ever felt weighed down, heavy-hearted, and a little far from God even though, it seems, you have all your faith boxes checked? You’ve been attending church, spending daily time with Jesus and the Bible, and attending Bible study.
Yet, somehow, you don’t feel that passion, joy, and closeness in your relationship with God, and you don’t know why.
Could it be that you’ve been spiritually tending to your head and neglecting your heart?
As human beings designed in God's image, we were created to live not only from our minds but also from the innermost part of our being, our hearts, where our spirit resides. A central part of being human is the gift of emotions. Although we know our feelings aren’t the bottom line of the truth, they can give us indications when we are out of balance.
I experienced this recently. I was super excited about the stack of godly books I was reading. I was in a Bible study and spending personal time with Jesus every day, yet I didn’t feel as close to God as I usually do.
I love to study, but after praying about the distance I felt from God, I wondered if it was possible to study too much.
Praying about this, the Spirit nudged me that maybe I’d been basing my life with the Lord only “in my head.” He also wanted my heart. He reminded me of the early years of my faith. As a teenager, long before headphones, I would come home from school, turn on Christian music, and lie on the floor with my head between the two stereo speakers. (I know some of you are trying to figure out what a stereo is, lol) My love and devotion to God grew as I lay there singing with complete abandon. He healed the ragged edges of my soul battered by the world that day and drew me close.
You see, study transforms our minds, but worship shapes our hearts.
The Gift of Worship
Singing has been an expression of love and a way to grow in devotion to God since the beginning. God’s people sang praises to Him in the wilderness. Spiritual giants like David sang all the way through the Psalms. The first Christians sang together in their gatherings. Paul and Silas sang so loud that all the other prisoners could hear them when they were imprisoned for their faith.
In more recent history, worship was also a pivotal component of the great revivals. When the Lord needed to impact his people, His Spirit would come with a fresh anointing of His Word and worship.
Like in The First Great Awakening of the 18th century. Instead of a living encounter between each believer and the Lord, attending church had become a stale weekly ritual for upstanding members of society. The Bible was viewed as a large, dusty book that the Reverend would read every Sunday. Each family might have a copy where they recorded births, marriages, and baptisms but rarely, if ever, read.
Society was a mess. People were careful to exhibit morality in public, but behind closed doors, they lived to satisfy every evil appetite. The poor and crippled were overlooked. The vulnerable were enslaved.
Then God moved. He brought great preachers and evangelists like George Whitefield and John Wesley to preach His word. And Charles Wesley, John’s younger brother, to put complex theology and truth about who God is into song in language that ordinary people could understand.
As the people sang, those profound truths crossed from their heads to their hearts, transfiguring their faith from a religious exercise to personal devotion and a hunger for holiness.
This fresh anointing of the Word and hymns transcended denominational lines and revitalized the stagnant Church, bringing widespread conversion, a new passion for others to know Christ, and social reform. The poor and crippled were cared for, and believers’ eyes were opened to the atrocities being committed against the enslaved.
Worship is a Vital Component of our Relationship with God
For some, it comes naturally. For the more “head-centered” people who love to study, it can be easier to neglect. Until every so often when the Holy Spirit and our aching hearts call us back.
It can be as simple as intentionally opening your Spotify or Pandora worship playlists or Christian radio station to sing with a couple of songs as you get ready in the morning, on your way to work, or at the end of the day.
If it seems a little forced, that’s ok. As everyone who’s ever been in a long-term relationship knows, you must be intentional to keep your affection alive and growing. It’s the same in our relationship with God. You’ll never be sorry that you did, only that you didn’t.
When we start living too much from our heads, God is faithful to nudge us by His Spirit to tend to our hearts … and sing!
Prayer Pause
* How is your relationship with God? Are you feeling fiery passion or a little distant?
* Have you been living primarily from your head and ignoring your heart?
* What is the Spirit saying to you about including worship in your life?
Resources Worth Noticing:
Reawaken Hymns on YouTube. A beautiful contemporary playlist of hymns to open your heart to worship!
Spotify or Pandora apps, to have worship playlists at your fingertips.
Amazing Love! How Can It Be: Studies on the Hymns of Charles Wesley by Chris Fenner. A current book about the life and hymns of Charles Wesley and what they mean to our lives today.
~ Lori