Songs Of Lament

Musician and teacher, Michael Card, explaining the need for us to sing songs of lament in our worship.
For a long time, I have thought that our worship (corporate church) has become very formulaic. We open our services with an uptempo song to get everyone jump started into the presence of God. Worship leaders tell the folks when to clap their hands or stomp their feet. The crowd is directed from the stage. My take on this (my opinion that is) is that worship should flow from whatever is happening on the stage. It should flow into the congregation. From this place, each person has a responsibility to approach God. No matter how big the group is.....10 or 10,000....worship is about the individual pouring themselves out to God. 

Sometimes this "pouring out" isn't always filled with the "warm-fuzzies". Sometimes that person is simply trying to survive....trying to hang on and make it one more day. In such times, there is that moment when gratitude and thankfulness become evident and the heart is directed to the Giver of all good things.
To make my point concerning worship and singing songs of lament, I always refer to Job chapter 1. On the worse day a human could ever possibly have, Scripture says that Job tore his clothes, sat down in the dirt and worshiped God. Do you think Job's songs were filled with "Happy, happy, joy, joy" lyrics? No, I think Job worshiped in his pain, yet cried out that God was the only stable thing he could fall upon to survive. 

Sometimes we have to acknowledge and lament the past in order to understand the reality of God. Because when He invades our past to forgive us, He does bring His joy to our pain. But we cannot experience that joy until we have been broken and put back together by His unseen hand. 

Please don't misunderstand what I have written today. I am not saying we need every service..every meeting to start off with a dirge...
We don't need every meeting to be a time of self infliction of pain and suffering. But we do need to be honest in our corporate times of worship. Sometimes we do hurt. Sometimes we do cry. Sometimes we do feel a million miles away from God, that He is no where to be found. But in those times is when He is nearest to us. 

I want to finish up today's posting by leaving you with a video of  Michael Card singing "God's own fool". We unknowingly have a tendency to try and rationalize the things of heave with a mind from earth. There is a point in giving ourselves to God that we no longer can live by the economy of this world. We must cast it aside, as it says in Hebrews 12, like a coat so we can run the race set before us. In fact Hebrews states that we must cast aside those things which so easily hinder us. What could be more of a hindrance than to try and grasp God with a mind and heart that is still tied to the things of this world?
I apologize for the ad's at the first of the video, but the song is incredible.




God on you...
michael b.