Do you have a favorite worship song? I know I do! However, it usually changes with the season of life I am in or with what God is currently showing me. There are times that some worship songs truly resonate, and I feel myself identifying with that particular song more than others. There are worship songs that speak to our identity in Christ, worship songs that give thanks to God for who He is, and worship songs that are more about warfare and defeating the enemy in our lives.
Why is worshipping God in song so important? I think the answer is held in a variety of reasons. There is a reason so much teaching of children is contained in songs. When words are set to music, they are easier to remember. Even at the end of Deuteronomy, Moses spends time teaching the Israelites a song God had given him to remind the Israelites of who God was in their lives before they entered the Promised Land. I know many times after a Sunday morning service a song we sang will float back through my mind and spirit and I will catch myself singing it once again. Then I am reminded in my everyday life circumstances of how amazing and wonderful God is, and I have nothing to fear.
Psalm 34:1-5 (NKJV) says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.” Further down in verses 8-10 it says “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want for those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”
I think this Psalm is a perfect picture of why worship is so important. It begins by saying what David, the author of the Psalm, will do. He will bless the Lord at all times. Meaning in all of His circumstances no matter what is going on, He will choose to bless the Lord. He exhorts others to do the same and focus on God. After that, He shows what the Lord will do. The Lord will deliver us from our fears, and we will lack no good thing.
When David says “Oh magnify the Lord with me”, what is he saying? I think he is saying focus on God! Look at Him! He is amazing, wonderful, victorious and a good Father. If we are magnifying God, you know what we are not magnifying? Our problems! We are saying God you are bigger than all my problems, all my circumstances and I choose to focus on you. In everyday life, it is easy to magnify our problems. When we focus on them, pretty soon they can seem bigger than God. When we truly think about that, we know it is not true. However, it is an easy conclusion to come to when our problems are our focus.
A few years ago, I was in a worship service singing the songs and connecting with God and enjoying myself. While I was worshipping, I felt God ask me if I thought spiritual warfare was fun. I thought to myself, not really. At that point in my life my view of spiritual warfare was pacing the floor praying, maybe wringing my hands and trying to not be overwhelmed with fear and worry. I am not saying there isn’t a place for intense prayer and even fasting. What I am saying is that spiritual warfare for me at the time was a lot of fear that I was supposed to fight off. It felt anything but victorious.
I felt the Lord say to me, Let me show you something. As I continued to sing and worship God in that service the Lord showed me a picture of warfare. As I sang, He fought for me. As I sang, He defeated the enemies for me. As I sang, He was victorious for me.
I think this picture He showed me is what happens when we worship God through song. When we look at God and magnify Him, then He is faithful to go out and defeat our enemies. This doesn’t mean that the circumstances won’t still be there. But if we are magnifying God it sure puts our circumstances into a different perspective. When we magnify God, our problems get much smaller. Also, when we choose to focus on God, that opens a door for Him to drop solutions for those problems into our hearts.
Remember friend, God is for us not against us. He loves you more than you can understand. Jesus’ death on the cross was not only to restore us to right relationship with God, it was to also make us victorious in Him. Romans 8:37 reminds us that we are more than conquerors in Christ. God’s will for us is to not go through life in fear and overwhelm barely getting by. His goal for us is to live in victory, trusting in God. It all begins when we turn and focus on God. Let’s magnify the Lord today!