Sing to Him a New Song

 Every morning I have this sort of routine, I’ve been doing it for quite some time. Quite honestly, I’d say it’s what makes my day go smoothly and puts me in a present, positive, and grateful space. I know, I know, “Joey, can we get to the point already?” Well… kind of, we’re going to get to it. First, I want to bring one of my favorite chapters to your attention, Psalm 98. As soon as you read verse 1, you’ll understand why this is one of my favorite chapters. “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm…”  

Now I’m being predictable because of course your worship leader’s favorite chapter involves worship and singing praises to God, but I want to dive deeper into this for a second. What does worship mean to you? What does it look like? To me, it’s such an intimate time between me and God. My hands raised high, shouting how much I love my heavenly father. It’s a time to outwardly profess my gratefulness and love, it’s a time where I can let the holy spirit take over and where I can tune everything else out. It’s almost like there’s no one else in the room but me and God. I’ve always had such a strong connection to worship because, well honestly, God blessed me with a gift and a passion to worship him. No matter what that gift is, how could you do anything but honor God every single second you’re calling on that gift. 

Now I’ve been in a lot of different places and have lived a lot of life, (Hey kid, you’re only 27, I know, I know, but I’m making a point,) and have been put through a lot of tests to get me to where I’m at today with my Peace family. I want to go back to circa 2010, and visit a 16 year old Joey at his districts church camp. There were so many moments during this camp that I will never forget, but one in particular. 600 teens and leaders, arms raised high, nothing but these voices singing loudly, “So I’ll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe, of the one who gave it all.” Tears filled my eyes, I dropped to my knees, shouting this words with a desperation to be close with my Jesus. A desperation to praise him. A desperation to worship him and all he is. Verses 7-8 in Psalm 98 come to mind, “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it! ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy.” Man, how powerful is that image? The sea, the rivers, the mountains, worshiping their creator, THE EARTH ITSELF RESOUNDS WITH HIS PRAISES. Wow. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s how I want to worship. That’s how badly I want to sing gratefulness to the father. That’s the enthusiasm I want every morning, every Sunday, with every word I sing. 

Every morning, I make my coffee, read my Bible, and put on some of my favorite worship songs. But here’s the thing. Worship doesn’t just happen in the pews on Sunday. It doesn’t just happen when we’ve got the pretty screens on the projectors. It doesn’t just happen when the band sings your favorite song. It happens every day, of course the easiest way to picture it for a lot of people is through song (SINGING his praises). Worship though, worship is how you live through your whole life. Worship is honoring him through your actions, through your words, and of course through music. My challenge to everyone going through this next week is simple, worship him. Throughout your day. Put on your favorite worship song in your quiet time, take a second to tell him how grateful you are for him in your prayer time. So, I’ll end this the same way I started this, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm.”  

Joey Ennulat