January 6, 2020

It's not the song

Casey Paulin

It's Not The Song, It's You

I used to silently complain about the songs that were chosen to be in our weekend set list, partly because I wanted to see more variety in the set, but mostly because I felt that the songs we were singing weren’t really ushering in the presence of God and getting people excited to worship. But when I really began to explore why I felt this way, I was confronted with a hard truth. 

I had gotten to a place in my leadership where I was depending on the song, rather than myself, to usher in the presence of God, as if playing a particular chord progression or singing certain lyrics would do the trick. I realized that I had become lazy in my pursuit of God, and as a result, I had begun to blame my lack of spiritual preparedness on the type of songs that we were singing. 

And I had to repent for that. 

Don’t you realize that all of [us] together are the temple of God and the Spirit of God lives in [us]? 
1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT

We were designed to be the carriers of God’s presence. We are the ones tasked to continually be spiritually prepared and excited to enter into the presence of God. It’s not the songs we sing. It’s us. 

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. Hebrews 13:14–15 NLT

Whether you serve on a worship team or not, the type of service taking place or the songs being sung don’t really matter. Your spirit and your faith should always be fully engaged with God even before the first note is played. If you find yourself bored or disengaged during worship because of the genre of music being played, I challenge you to bring those feelings before the Lord to make sure the real issue is not that you are tired and disengaged in your pursuit of Him. 

I have learned (and am still learning) to worship God with passion no matter what the service or the set list looks like. I have purposed in my heart—as I pray that you will too—that the songs, the stage setup, or even the engagement of other people will not determine the level of surrender and adoration that I give Jesus. 

He is the one who saved me, the one who rescued me from sin, the one who will forever be worthy of all and the very best of my praise.

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