SYNOPSIS: Wouldn’t it be great to be so in love with Jesus and so overwhelmed by his saving grace and mercy and so grateful for the most dramatic search and rescue that ever took place when he saved you from utter darkness and eternal damnation that you just lost yourself for a season in unfettered worship like King David was when he danced before the Lord? Of course, there are cultural differences that shape our expressions of worship, but wouldn’t you agree that after all God has done for us out of his undeserved loving-kindness, we need to loosen up a bit in how we express our love and gratitude for God in worship from time to time? It might be a stretch for you, so try this when you are in a private place and time, but just lose yourself in the wonder of worship by shouting for joy and dancing a jig for Jesus. I have a suspicion that it would do you some good.
Moments with God // Psalm 98:4-5
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing.
Years ago, when I first began planting churches in Africa, I was in the western region of Ethiopia, and I was called upon to preach in one of the thriving churches that are springing up every year there by the hundreds. It was in what you might call a backward part of the world. It was remote, underserved, and lacked access to almost everything we take for granted in America: education, healthcare, infrastructure, goods and services, etc. Yet despite the deprivation, it was a veritable “ground zero” for a modern-day Holy Spirit revival akin to what we read about in the Book of Acts. One of the things I loved most about being there—an experience that continues to this day wherever I go in East Africa—was the unfettered worship these people lifted to God when they gathered for church services.
On that particular occasion, right before I was to preach, the choir sang—two songs. Back-to-back songs. Songs that were twelve minutes each! I know; I timed them. And not knowing the language, I sat for twenty-four minutes listening to singers I didn’t know lifting love songs I didn’t know to the God who has rescued them from utter darkness and brought them into the kingdom of his Son. And I’ve got to tell you: I was moved.
In the front row sat a man who began to get “blessed” by the choir. He began to shake, then he began to shout, and then he began to dance back and forth across the front of the sanctuary with dance moves that I suspect would be physically impossible for any American to duplicate. Not a practiced routine, mind you, you could tell this was totally spontaneous. After a bit, this fellow finally danced back to his seat, only to get “re-blessed” within a few seconds, whereupon he began his shaking-shouting-dancing routine all over again—for the twenty-four minutes of the two choir songs.
My first thought was, “Wow, this would never happen where I’m from. This man is calling attention to himself, and I’d have to set him straight about propriety in worship.” But then I began to understand that this man was simply and authentically lost in the wonder of worship. He wasn’t calling attention to himself; he was expressing unfettered praise to God in a way that I had never, ever come close to experiencing. So was everyone else in the place that day.
And then I was a bit jealous!
Wouldn’t it be great to be that in love with Jesus and that overwhelmed by his saving grace and that grateful for the most dramatic search and rescue that ever took place when he saved you from utter darkness and eternal damnation that you just lost yourself for a season in unfettered worship? Of course, there are cultural differences that will shape our expressions of worship—I get that—but wouldn’t you agree that after all God has done for us out of his mercy and grace, we need to loosen up a bit in how we express our love and gratitude to God in worship from time to time?
Certainly, the psalmist thinks so.
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