Midnight Songs

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship. (Job 1:2)

Maybe it's no accident that in some of the "Valley of the Shadow of Death" Times in my life, I turn to music. After I get over that initial yearning for silence, I yearn for music. I sing myself to sleep, I have my IPod playing in the background and there's almost always a song stuck in my head. One of the things I've been doing recently is singing worship songs. Under Youtube, I find the karaoke version of some worship songs and sing out the lyrics (When no one's home of course!) For those few minutes, it's not about me. It's not about what's going on in my life or this valley in which I am walking.

I love the verse above for this reason. On that particular day, Job's worship came from the ground. He tasted dirt and tears as he cried out through his pain to the God he loved. Worship is an involuntary reaction of the soul's longing for Christ's return. Even in our anger and confusion, there is something about worship that comforts us in times of pain.*

In the Old Testament, we always hear the phrase "Let my people go." (Said by Moses) What we don't notice as much is the last part, So they may worship me. Worship is associated with Freedom. I love that. I love that worship is our freedom song. In that moment, despite everything that's going on in my life, God's love has set me free. He loves me even in my brokenness, even in my hurting. He loves me even in my questioning, and in my anger, and in my confusion. Worship is about HIM, it's about loving Him back. It has the power to move me out of the state I am in and into the loving arms of God.

Worship reminds us that this isn't the end of the story. This isn't even the best part of the story. The song we sing facedown on the ground through the tears, in the mud and with broken hearts is just the beginning of a symphony that is building, rising and swelling into eternity.

So let my midnight song rise, a light defient against the darkness. Let my worship be my longing for Christ's return, let it echo off the sky and loosen these chains, setting me free. Let His great love for me bring me out into the light, where the focus is on the One who gives... and takes away. Let it move me into the loving arms of God.

Ideas taken from PaperDoll by Natalie Lloyd