Aug
27
2019
The Woman Behind Me
Posted in Worship 4 Comments
The woman sat behind me at church.
I smiled as I took my seat.
I had never seen her before.
It all started when the worship began.
The woman sang with all her heart.
The woman sang loudly and joyfully.
The woman was exuberant in her worship.
I decided that when the service was over, I would talk to her.
I could not sing at her volume if I tried.
I cannot even talk at that same volume.
From her lips to God’s ears, was all I could think of as she sang.
Her singing blessed me.
Her voice was not trained.
Her voice was not amazing.
Yet, her voice was lovely.
It was lovely because I knew the object of her worship.
As our worship time continued, the worship leader told the men sing a stanza.
At another part of the song, he told only the woman to sing.
It was when the men were asked to sing, it happened.
The woman behind me continued to sing.
The volume and the fact that it was a woman’s voice, made her stand out.
I could hear a person next to her, say something to her.
The woman kept singing.
Joyfully, robustly, the woman was singing to the Lord and not to anyone else.
When it was time for only the women to sing a stanza, she continued to sing.
She never missed a beat.
She never turned down her volume.
It made me smile just to listen to her.
After a few more songs, the worship leader told the men and women to sing at different times.
The woman sang with all her heart when it was the women’s turn.
The woman sang with all her heart when it was the men’s turn.
The same person said something to her again, but the woman continued to sing.
Worship should be exuberant.
Worship should be all about God.
We should not look around but rather up at the one who is the object of our worship.
Worship should edify those around us.
The woman’s worship edified me.
The woman helped me see the sheer joy of singing to the Lord.
The woman helped me see that even if we sing differently from everyone else, God is pleased.
God sees the heart of our worship.
We cannot know the heart of people when they sing.
Only God knows if someone is going through the motions or actually worshiping Him.
Only God can see inside our hearts.
Only God can help us when we are distracted.
God is not concerned with our voice quality.
A heart fully devoted to Him makes beautiful music.
Even if we sing off key, our worship is accepted.
It is not about performance, it is about surrender.
I wanted to meet this woman.
After the service was over, I turned around.
I loved hearing you sing, I said to her.
She laughed and looked at her husband.
My family keeps telling me that my voice is the only one they hear, she said.
Both her husband and son nodded in agreement.
I just can’t sing softly, she said, I just have to praise!
My husband kept nudging me the whole time, she admitted.
That’s because you were singing when it was supposed to be only the men, he said with a smile.
I couldn’t understand what you were saying to me, she told him.
I said, just the men, he reminded her.
I thought he (the worship leader) was saying, Amen, which made me sing louder, she giggled.
We were all laughing at this point.
Well, it was wonderful, I said again.
Keep singing, I added.
And I will keep nudging, her husband said.
Oh, don’t nudge her, I told him.
It is really a blessing, I said looking right at the woman.
The woman was smiling ear to ear.
Her husband and son were smiling right along with her.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Through Jesus, the Amen is spoken by us.
That Amen gives glory to God.
I am so glad the woman did not hear her husband correctly.
The men became Amen to her ears.
I am certain God was pleased.
I know that I was blessed.
The woman left smiling.
Her husband promised not to nudge her any more.
Amen.
Thanks for this! Not everyone in my family sings on key, but they sing!
Amen, Lori! It does not matter what our singing sounds like to us, rather what it sounds like to God! God must love to hear the sound of our worship.
Gina
Gina, I love this….God sees the heart of our worship; only God can see inside our hearts; a heart fully devoted to Him makes beautiful music….such an encouragement and blessing to me today – just what I needed. Thank you for obeying God in sharing His whispers to you!
Oh, Diane, I am so glad this blessed you! It was such a wonderful thing to experience. The woman behind me blessed my heart. Miss you, friend.
Gina