"Forgiven Much...Worship Much"

This past week I encountered two quotes that gave some perspective on worship...at least for my own engagement on Sunday mornings.  That's right, sometimes this Worship Leader doesn't always feel like singing or leading worship on Sundays. My feelings don't always fit with the songs I've picked or the topic for that morning. Sound familiar to you as well?

Travis Ryan, a gifted worship leader and songwriter tweeted the following last week, "Worship Leaders, instead of starting your service with 'How do I feel', ask 'What do I know?'."

So what do we know? I mean, let's face it, I don't always feel like waking up on Sunday and singing songs or sitting through a message.  I don't always want to put on my happy face and engage my church community.  There may be things happening in my life that I don't want to be transparent about, which leads to a lack of desire to engage God in worship, singing, prayer or learning.

So if we followed Travis's advice, which I think it right on the mark, we would ask, "Instead of following how I feel, what do I know?"  I pondered this statement for a few days and found my answer as I listened to Bill Hybels during the opening talk of the 2014 Global Leadership Summit. Bill made a statement that immediately answered Travis's tweet, at least for me.  Bill said, "Forgiven Much...Worship Much."  That was the resounding answer to "What do I know?"

It sounds obvious but often doesn't live itself out as obvious, but we don't want to worship just because of how we feel.  We worship because God is worthy and because we have been forgiven much! When I think over my life and the things that still haunt me, the things I'm still trying to improve, and how God gives me the grace that I need on that journey, I'm given a reason to worship no matter how I feel. I live within the safety of His forgiveness...forever!  Forgiven Much...Worship Much.

I encourage you to not disengage from your faith community when life is hard or your feelings don't follow the Sunday songs or message. Be there and engage God because of what He's done for you, not because of your feelings. You are forgiven much, so worship much!