Always Somewhere Else #5: Tired of Words
Always Somewhere Else
Tired of Words

I’m tired of all the labels we try to put on our lives, naming this activity as being social, that as academic, this other as spiritual. We compartmentalize our lives, and thus we live in pieces, not as whole people. And thus we treat our God in pieces, not as a whole God.

He fills everything: every bit of our lives. Every molecule in the universe is filled to bursting with His presence, and thus He reigns over all. Whatever we do, wherever we are, God is with us, not just peeking in the cracks of our boxed and crated lives, but tearing them apart and flooding in to subsume us in His glory. We can hold nothing back. He is too powerful to be contained, and He will not stay in the boxes we make for Him. He wants all of us: all of me, all of you.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. This is our acceptable act of worship. This is worship: that we live. Whatever we do, it is for God. We are His, and we are in His hands whether we are aware of it or not. Driving in the car, studying for a test, washing the dishes, talking to friends—all of this is done in God’s presence. Whatever pitiful effort we make, He will use to His glory.

I’m tired of labeling this time as worship and that time as something else. All time is worship time. All time belongs to God.

I’m tired of all the names we give our music. There is no such thing as “praise music,” if that term is given exclusively to one group of modern choruses. All music that acknowledges Who God is, that glories in His beauty, that rejoices in His presence, that speaks of what He has done and is doing and will do: all of that music is praise. “Just As I Am” and “Rock of Ages” are praise songs. By the same measure, “Shout to the Lord” and “Awesome God” are hymns. Difference in style does not equal difference in substance.

Substance. That’s what I want in my music. We all have personal tastes, styles we care more for than others, and there’s nothing wrong with that. God made us different on purpose. But are you offering God substance in your worship? Is your life a substantial act of worship?

Is mine?

I’m tired of all the names, the labels, the words. I want something more. I want my daily service to God—my life of worship, my acceptable offering—to be meaty and full of chewy bits. Substance.

I want my life to yell for Jesus.

What do you want?

You can’t hold back. You can’t go by halves. If He owns you, then He owns you. And He gives you more than you’ll ever understand.

What are you holding back?

He wants it all, you know. And He’s already there.

Just open your fist, and let it go. Whatever you’re holding clutched in that grimy, sweat-streaked, shaking little fist of yours, let it go.

He will catch it as it floats away, and He’ll take care of it for you. Trust Him. He loves you.

Stop fighting and let it go.

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