Messy Worship

I was part of a time of community worship tonight, and I'd like to share a little about what God laid on my heart as I felt his presence there.

First off, some context. I'm currently living in a community full of Jesus fanatics where I'm learning so much (some people call it college). It's such a blessing to be here, and I was reminded why as I worshiped with these people only a few hours ago.

Also in introduction, I want to make clear that I love and am greatly appreciative of everyone who helped organize that worship event. I'm about to say some brutally honest things, but I think that's necessary to make my point.

So, in the vein of being honest (I say this without any condemnation), I think the logistics of the worship time were pretty messy. I've led worship and listened to countless other worship bands in my lifetime, so (sadly to say) I unconsciously came with a comparing heart. That's not to say I wasn't excited about worship; I enjoyed the music and experience thoroughly, right from the start. However, I did notice the little things: the band didn't seem totally prepared, the sound and media systems weren't working right, and it was a bit awkward starting off. As the night went on, however, the Holy Spirit grabbed hold of me (as it did those around me), and those things didn't matter anymore. Sure, I still didn't really know what songs the band was playing and there were still technical issues. Yet a time of genuine worship ensued in spite of all that. Scratch that. I actually think a time of genuine worship ensued because of all that. (You can think I'm crazy as long as you keep reading.)

As I stood there, worshiping and praying, God put this word in my mind: messy. I used that word earlier to describe the event, but as God spoke to me, something else came to mind. I'm messy. My life, my circumstances, my doubts, fears, and failures - I'm a mess. Then I thought about it more. The people around me; they're messy too. Those guys leading worship; they're messy too. Humanity is messy. We don't have it all together, and the logistics of our life are a wreck. Yet, here's the thing - there's beauty in that.

The fact that humanity is messy means God has something to work with. I don't know if you know, but God's in the business of taking messy things and making them beautiful again. That's what happened at worship tonight, and that's what he's doing in each one of us. He's taking the mess and transforming it.

To bring it all back, I think part of what made the worship feel so genuine was its messiness, its humanity. When we say God wants to meet us where we are, I think that's what we mean. It's not to condone sin. It's not to celebrate messiness in itself - it's to point us to the Savior who can erase all the sin and messiness. And God loves this. He wants our messy worship - the times where we want to seek and praise Him but don't know how. The times when we feel ashamed and unworthy. The times when we're empty and confused and lonely and hurting. The times we choose to surrender without knowing how.

So let's get into the habit of coming to God right where we are; bringing the worry, regret, shame, technical difficulties, etc. See, we don't come to our Savior broken so that God can glorify the mess; we come to Him so that the mess can be used to glorify God.