Songs Are A Place We Go
One of my favorite things about being a worship leader is getting the opportunity to see people, with a simple song, find a place of meeting with God.
Songs truly are a place we go.
A Song In A Dark Place
Some time ago, someone very close to me went through a horrific kidnapping experience. As an Aid worker, he and two co-workers were taken from their hotel by a band of terrorists who intended to demand a ransom for their release.
After an excruciating 3 months in captivity, with their lives hanging in the balance every minute of each day, they were miraculously released. When I spoke with this person, soon after these events, our conversation turned to worship.
Songs Are A Place We Go
I asked "What place did worship music have in helping you get through the experience?" He began to recount the names of a few songwriters, including one of my good friends, Rita Springer.
As the pain of the situation swirled around him, in a hellish environment, he would sing the songs of these writers in his mind. Nothing miraculous happened. No thunderbolts, or angels, or immediate peace descended.
What did happen?
But they kept him alive. They kept him anchored. They kept hope within reach. They gave language to his prayers. They took him to another place.
The songs were a place, to which he would go, to meet with God.
Songs Are A Powerful Gift
Songs are powerful. Like images, they can take us places in a moment. The words they give, the stories they tell, the reminders they bring, and the comfort they give are gifts from God to be treasured and used in our hour of need.
We are given songs in the night - often the dark night of the soul - to center us back on things that are true, right and beautiful.
If you are a worship leader, musician, tech or participant in your local worship ministry, remember that songs are a place to which we go.
Make it your daily and weekly mission to create places, through the gift of music, for each person in your community to meet with God.
There is no higher call.
Dan Wilt