The habit of everyday worship

“The Creation of Narnia” by Bethany Sellers

Have you ever stopped and thought about what Jesus’s singing voice sounded like? Did he have a higher pitched voice, or was he a resonant bass? What if he was nasally? I like to think that he had a beautiful singing voice. Worshipping with Jesus in the flesh must have been a completely unreal experience—something I’m sure the disciples never forgot.

Worship through music is something that is difficult to do. I don’t mean just the physical effort of singing or playing an instrument. Some days you just don’t feel like singing. That can be really tough for me in my profession of church worship music. Sometimes my worship is forced, but I have to remind myself that that is the sign of a good habit developing in my life.

I am NOT a habit-friendly person. It takes me a long time to good develop habits and an even longer time to break the bad ones. But in this new season of my life where worship music is my full-time job, I have been trying desperately to develop the habit of being an everyday worshipper. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, I try to worship every day.

The one song that usually kicks off my worship time is “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.” It always amazes me how lyrics that were written almost 200 years ago still ring true to the human heart to this day.

Soul, then know thy full salvation 
Rise o’er sin and fear and care 
Joy to find in every station, 
Something still to do or bear. 
Think what Spirit dwells within thee, 
Think what Father’s smiles are thine, 
Think that Jesus died to win thee, 
Child of heaven, canst thou repine. 

If there is ever a day that worship does not come naturally, you can be sure I am starting my worship off with finger picking the intro to this song. Even if I don’t sing the words, just the tune in my head brings me close to the Lord and reminds me of his constant closeness to me. Worship is where the musical and the spiritual connect—where God meets us in this vulnerable, emotional place where we are engaged in something that requires almost every muscle in our body to join in the effort. I sing because Jesus sang first. Everyday worship connects me to the true Worshipper.