Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name.” When we workout we are getting our physical body healthy. When we save money each week, we are getting our finances in good shape. Just as it is good to take care of our physical body and finances, we need to have our soul restored. We need God to restore our soul daily. The soul is the mind, will, and emotions. So, when God gives us peace, our soul is restored.
One way to restore is through music. The foundation of restoration is adoration. As a whole, we use music a lot in Church. Some churches use the organ to get things gaoing in the background. Is music important? Some believe that emotion is not needed to worship God. You may have heard it said, “worship is a lifestyle”. I agree with this phrase personally, but I also think it would be wrong to assume that worship is only a lifestyle. In reality, worship is also when we play music to God.
The Scriptures give us many different ways to worship God. We are called to, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD” (Psalm 134:2). Psalm 100:1 reads, “For giving thanks. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God.” There are other times when we cry to the Lord and are sad. We read, “Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!” (Psalm 102:1). Each of these verses show us that emotion is good when we worship God.
Because I have been on Church praise teams since I was about fifteen, I can see how people worship. For me, I love worship that is alive. I don’t want to worship like a cold fish. I want to lift my hands, bow down, cry, smile, and shout to the Lord. I really wouldn’t ever directly tell someone they need to worship with more emotion because I don’t know their heart. But as a whole this is something that everyone should know. The law is summarized by loving God will all your heart, soul, and strength. Grace supplies what the law demands. If that is what love looks like, we should worship with everything we have.
We should also inspire people to worship as well. Some may feel awkward lifting their hands but if you are by them worshiping with your arms up, they will feel better about doing it as well. Worship should also be genuine. We shouldn’t just fake it, and we should also press through days when we do not feel like worship. God doesn’t just deserve our adoration on my good days, He deserves it on my bad days as well. Some Sunday mornings I’m tired but I know that God loves to hear me worship. So, it is the motivation of the Lord that causes me to sing.
Even music with no lyrics can be spiritual warfare. 1 Samuel 16:23 reads, “David would play his harp. Saul would relax and feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.” When you play Godly music, evil spirits will leave. They cannot stand when we honor and worship the Lord. So if you are struggling to sleep, put on some anointed music and worship.
Worship is about the heart. When we worship God with all of our heart, we will eventually cry, bow down, and shout with joy. Take time to sing to the Lord today. Allow the music to not only effect your brain, let it affect your emotions. You may be busy with work and life, but remember to worship. When we take time to worship the Lord, our soul is restored.
Courage With Grace Ministries 