Reacting or Responding?

By Jeff Taylor, Pastor of Worship

I once went to a church that had six – yes, six – worship leaders. This meant that rarely did the same person lead two weeks in a row, which often meant there was a good chance that the person leading was not someone’s “favorite.” The things that stick out most in my mind about that time are the comments I would hear on a weekly basis like, “Oh, so-and-so is leading? Looks like I’ll just hang in the coffee house ‘til the music is done.” Or, “I just can’t worship when that guy leads.” Or, “She never does songs that I can worship to.” Now, none of these are bad or malicious people. I am sure that each of them has a heart that loves God and desires to worship Him. What these comments, and thoughts like these that I have had in similar situations, reveal is the tendency for us to react to what’s in front of us rather than being open and responding to what the Spirit of God is doing in us.

We live in a society that tells us that we should go for whatever makes us happy or feels good. That means that we have the right to evaluate anything and everything to determine what will be best/most entertaining/satisfying, etc., and choose that option, rejecting anything else. In many cases, like when choosing a restaurant, this is harmless and probably how most of us choose where to eat. It becomes problematic when we take this into our approach to God, because we then take on the responsibility of determining how and through what means God can/will work. And it is not just with worship music that we do this; it can be with a pastor’s sermon, a Bible verse we have read a hundred times, or anything else we evaluate based on our preferences and then determine our reaction based on those feelings. A reaction that may at times remove us from an opportunity for God to move or bring about change in our life.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 commands us, “Do not quench the Spirit.” This is in the context of the Spirit of God moving amongst His people, and them taking it on themselves to determine what God is doing, and what they are willing to accept. When Pastor Dan calls us to open our Bible to a passage that I am very familiar with and I tune out because I “already know” what those verses mean, I risk quenching the Spirit of God and a new work that He may want to do in my life. When a worship team begins playing a song that has really never struck me and drawn me deep into worship and I decide to just evaluate the performance or all the faults of the song, I risk quenching the Spirit of God that may want to use that song in that moment to bring healing to my brokenness in a way that I have never needed before.

Our purpose for coming to church should not be to evaluate and react. We all need to come with the anticipation that God is there, that the Holy Spirit is alive and active amongst His people, and that no matter what may be presented to us from the stage, we should look not to react based on our preferences, but to open our hearts to the work of God and respond however He leads us. This could lead to new expressions of worship, deeper understanding of the truths of scripture, and a response that takes us out of our comfort zone and into the LIFE that is promised those who would truly allow Jesus to be the Lord of their life.

I know I am deep in this journey of what it means to truly allow God to lead me, to take me past my critical nature and desire to evaluate and react, and into a deeper relationship with Him where I will respond to His leading and draw nearer to Him in every aspect of my life. Will you join me?