CHARISSA CHEONG reflects on how she was reminded of the transformative power of worship…
London, UK
PICTURE: Aliane Schwartzhaupt/Unsplash
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” – Habakkuk 3:17-19
Everything was going great, until suddenly it wasn’t. Recently, in my working life, I experienced a sudden bump in the road that threatened to throw me off course and send me into panic mode.
It seemed like everything was about to fall apart with a project I’d been working on, and as someone who does not deal with conflict and disruptions well, I ended the week feeling highly anxious and worried.
“During that worship session, something dark lifted off of me. The hold of anxiousness and stress was broken, and I was delivered into a place of peace. I woke up the next morning in a state of joy, feeling ready to sing and dance before the Lord. Even though nothing about my situation had changed in a material sense, in a spiritual sense, everything was different.”
On Friday night, just before I went to bed, so many troubled thoughts were swirling around my head that I didn’t even feel able to pray to about it. But I did think I had it in me to at least put a worship song on.
At first, I was just reciting words to a song that I knew. My heart couldn’t rise to truly praising God as it normally would when everything in my life was going well, and my mind wasn’t clouded by stress.
The song I chose to sing was called Hallelujah Anyway by Rend Collective, and the lyrics of the song tell of a person going through a rough situation, saying to God that “even if” breakthrough never comes in that situation and it doesn’t get any better, they will still say ‘Hallelujah’ to Him anyway, because He is good.
It felt extremely relevant, and extremely difficult for me to sing at the same time.
After singing that song, and another, and another, I gradually felt emotionally and spiritually stronger. Where I didn’t feel able to pray just 15 minutes earlier, I was slowly able to voice my concerns and make petition to God over the situation. I also felt His presence hovering over me, and I began to hear His voice speaking to me and guiding me to places in the Bible where I could find direction and comfort.
During that worship session, something dark lifted off of me. The hold of anxiousness and stress was broken, and I was delivered into a place of peace. I woke up the next morning in a state of joy, feeling ready to sing and dance before the Lord. Even though nothing about my situation had changed in a material sense, in a spiritual sense, everything was different.
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I am so grateful that God used this experience to remind me of the power of worship. It’s so much more than just singing nice songs to God. It is a powerful weapon that silences the enemy. Where the powers of darkness would have tried to keep me in a place of anxiety all weekend, the Lord took me by the hand and lifted me out.
It was the decision to say to God, ‘even though this situation sucks I will praise Your great name’, instead of turning to other, inferior coping methods – like putting some Netflix on and trying to distract myself – that made all the difference. As an added bonus, on Monday, God brought so many solutions to the problem I was facing that I was overwhelmed with joy by His kindness.
Of course, in life there are all kinds of devastating situations we can end up in and one evening spent in worship might not suddenly change how we feel. But I hope that for anyone reading this, the Lord will bring to your attention the thought and desire to turn to Him alone whenever life gets hard.
When darkness starts to surround you, and you feel too weak to take it on, the Sovereign Lord is your strength, making you are surefooted as a deer. Give Him praise.
