Wednesday Worship
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WW.005: New Wine | by Hillsong Worship
I was going to write about The Blessing today but this morning all I can think of is New Wine. This song is one of my favorites but you obviously get it by now that every song I bring up is most likely a favorite of mine. Right now I cannot get this song out of my head. Do you ever have days like that?
I don’t like to complain but my life is in a pretty stressful state right now. I can’t be very specific abut it publicly right now but basically I am in a waiting room that effects the relevance of most every decision I make, financial, relational, and even how I utilize my “spare” time. It is an aggravating place to be especially when you can’t really say much about it to some of the people you spend most of your time with. I am stuck between wondering if I should do more in the mean time or use the time to do less and prepare by resting more and trying to just recenter myself. I realize I am not the only one facing such difficult circumstances and of course I also know that there are so many people dealing with worse circumstances right now. I know all that and it keeps me from complaining too much but I also need to be reminded that my pain, confusion, frustration, and trials are valid too. I don’t normally give myself permission to be the one who needs someone to listen to me. On the contrary, I usually try to be the one who is always there for others to vent to.
“In the crushing, In the pressing, You are making new wine” It is hard to see this truth when the vice grips of life are squeezing you to your limits. The part we forget is that our limits is not where our power stops! We have the power of God on our side! When new wine was made in biblical times they would carry it in wine skins which were normally made of goat skin…Kind of gross if you think about it but it is what they did. The thing is when an old wine skin reaches it’s limit and you put new wine into it, it breaks! I feel a lot like an old wine skin lately and things in my life are being crushed and pressed from all sides. The Lord is making new wine and I am about to burst. If we may segway into another biblical analogy of our cup running over, that is basically what is going on here. the wine is made of blessings. The things in life being crushed and pressed are distractions and superfluous things that we cling to in our sinful humanity which are being destroyed. However, it must be so to enable the flow of blessing into our lives and the live of those around us from our overflow.
I have said before and I truly believe that blessings and stresses are synonymous but that is only when we look at life through our own power. We keep forgetting that we have God’s power! The power that rose Jesus from the grave and defeated death is alive in us! so yes when we look at things we love or have found our security and purpose in, begin to be torn down, rearranged, or ripped from our grip, it can be unsettling to say the least. We can live in a constant state of stress and aggravation trying our hardest to hold all the wine inside our feeble old wine skins or we can surrender our finite strength and allow the breakthrough! When we experience that the wine it held will splash all over us and everyone in our vicinity. The breaking may seem like a failure on our part but it is that example that others will look at and see the power of God and how He makes us new again. When one wine skin breaks, they would make another one. God wants to give you a new wine skin so why are you trying to hold on so tightly to the weak old one you’ve had!? Let it burst it’s blessings over your life and trust that God will replace it with one brand new and stronger than before!
Blessings FAM!
What is being crushed and pressed in your life right now? How can that be used to produce new wine in your life? Why are you still desperately trying to hold onto your old wine skin? Sometimes we breakdown before a breakthrough but that is okay. Once it happens and we choose to lean on God’s power through it, those are the examples of how to live this Christian life that people need to see! You may not be able to answer the questions I just posed but the best part and one of the hardest parts to remember is that we don’t have to understand how it will all work out. We just have to trust and surrender it all to God. “So I yield to You and to Your careful hand. When I trust you I don’t need to understand!”
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WW.004: No Fight Left | by JJ Heller
If you don’t listen to this song and instead judge it by the title alone, you may think it is pretty bleak and depressing. What I have to say about it and the truth of the message if you listen to it, in fact, is completely opposite. It is freeing and brings peace…to me anyway!
I am writing this today, on the day it is to be posted. I almost didn’t even try to get a blog post written today. I was talking myself out of caring or having any “fight left” because I am pretty sure no one actually reads these, much less is waiting to read the next one with bated breath. I tell myself it doesn’t matter if I keep writing. I make excuses for why I could stop right now, so easily. Last month I blogged consistently for the first time in my life. I made a plan and posted twice a week for roughly the last six weeks. I am proud of that so I can stop now right? If no one is reading them and it is just another thing for me to do, I have every right to stop and pivot to a new outlet don’t I?
No, I can’t give up that easily. What I need to do is give it up to God. I know that I can never maintain consistency in anything without His help. What’s more is, I never want to have to try! We can never get it right all the time or accomplish everything we are “supposed” to on our own. We get lazy or prideful and we mess it up. I don’t know if I will blog forever but that is not for me to decide. The reason I started blogging is to put my thoughts and inspirations out into the physical world for others to connect with and become part of the journey I believe God has called me to. I do not get to call it quits now, but it is also not me that is conveying anything through this, it is Him. I need to remember that and when I want to give up, instead I need to give it up to God. He will always come through and provide a way to accomplish the things I feel too burnt out to do. What I may convince myself is worthless and no one cares about, could very well be exactly what at least one person who stumbles on this site needs to hear. That is more than worth being obedient to the “little” things always!
If you listen to the song, I hope you feel the essence of what I’ve described here and latch on to the significance of it. I don’t want to always have to over analyse or dissect the connections from song to blog topic because I want you to be able to derive the message on your own. Understanding and applying worship songs like this to life is great training for reading and understanding the messages in the bible. Music is one of the first and remains one of the easiest ways for me to relate and engage with intimate ideas of others and thus learn to “human” haha! Song writing is therapy and some artists have such profound wisdom that can only be understood by listening to the way God inspired them to set that wisdom to music. So if you didn’t listen to the song, or even if you did, listen to it again and really try to connect with what is being said. Try not to just enjoy the melody but seek to relate with the author; of the song and where they are coming from but also of life and what He is trying to teach through that God-breathed piece of inspiration.
Blessings FAM!
What is the way you learn best? Do you connect with God and wisdom through music? I believe every creative thing we do is just our attempt at mimicking the greatest creator, the creator of the universe and everything in it. Like Father, like children! We are created to create and the things we create exist to continue teaching and inspiring creativity in others. So if not music, then what? What form of art do you resonate with and how does it inspire you to create and share your story?
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WW.003: Every Move I Make | by David Crowder Band
“Waves of mercy, waves of grace” These are the lyrics that made me choose this song for this weeks Worship Wednesday spotlight. If you grew up in church like I did and 30 is creeping up on you, then you are probably vary familiar with this song! The moves we did were slightly different than this video but for the most part, they are the same. I loved this song and still do but for different reasons. When I was a student I loved it for it’s energy and excited movements. I served in the children’s ministry at my church back then, leading the small children in worship which, with them, always had to be full of creative movements. Most songs we lead them in had to have moves made up for them and I have many fond memories of choreographing those songs with my fellow KidZone Singers! (You know who you are! I miss you all and those sweet times we had together!)
My love for this song has taken on new meaning in my current season. As I was thinking this morning of what I wanted to write about for this post, I couldn’t stop coming back to one of my favorite analogies for when things in life look overwhelming. I liken it to standing on a beach and staring out at the water during a major storm which creates this giant wave! Think of the tallest wave you can and then double or triple it’s height! When we see things going on in life that are outside of our control, it can be easy to react in fear. Those things that seem so big and inevitable are like that giant wave. It is one hundred stories tall and coming straight for us. We feel like we may drown or be washed out and lost to the sea.
But “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” {2 Timothy 1:7} We can only control ourselves and we can choose to stand our ground against those waves by His power! In the end, just like that giant wave is pulled down to earth in submission to the moon’s tide, The waves in our lives will be crushed beneath our feet in submission to the unmatched power of God! Just as the wave, after crashing down, still comes towards us to softly ripple over our toes and around our ankles, the waves we face in this life will still come for us but to produce in us refreshing ripple effects of growth by God’s grace and we will see more clearly each time just how well we are surrounded by God’s merciful protection!
‘Waves of Mercy, Waves of Grace” Lord help us all to remember that the giant waves we face in this life all work for Your glory! You bring lessons and reminders of your grace and mercy in each one if we will only stand firm in Your power and look for the blessings. We trust that you will protect us and force these waves to bow at your power and break in your time!
Blessings FAM!
What are some waves you are facing or have faced in the past? How has God blessed you through them or how are you praying for His blessings out of the ones you are currently facing? If you are not praying to Him about them, why not? He cares about us through every situation. Go to Him with your fears even if they seem silly. Sometimes when we are less mature in our faith, even the small waves in life can scare us. There is no shame in that, just remember that no matter what we bring before Him, He will help us through. Worry about nothing, pray about everything and He will bring you peace!
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WW.002: Promises | Original by Sarah Crawford
The last song I posted about was Do It Again by Elevation Worship. This week I wanted to share with you an original song I wrote Just a few long months ago before this pandemic took over our lives! I wrote it near Christmas time and during the process, was dealing again with the fact that I can’t always guess what God’s will is…surprise! haha wouldn’t that be nice?!
This is something I foolishly try to do all the time. I overthink everything and find reasons why God should let certain things work out. Ultimately I can never know what God’s plan is and He likes to remind me by blowing my ideas completely out of the water, sometimes in good ways other times in ways that may be really hard to accept. It was out of a particularly disappointing reappointment that this song was birthed. I wrote it on a walk I went on around my neighborhood to calm my mind and refocus on the fact that whatever God’s plan is, it is always going to be greater than what I can imagine so I can trust Him no matter what!
No experience is wasted and so all the joy I may have had over that particular dream was still used by Him in it’s obliteration to carve out pieces of me that needed to be chipped away. I am His masterpiece and every “lost” and shattered dream is His chisel on my life, slowly but surely revealing the character He designed me to be, from before the beginning of time. I am learning to trust Him more each day with the things I can only guess about. His promises are good, maybe I misunderstood but I knew He always would because His promises are good!
Blessings FAM!
Share with me in the comments some ways God has been shaping you lately. If you would like to be more personal and share specifics privately, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the contact form. I would love to hear from you and offer prayers and encouragement if I can.
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WW.001: Do It Again | by Elevation Worship
This song is so powerful! I thought it would be hard to decide on which worship song to focus on for my first Wednesday Worship post but I couldn’t ignore the significance this song has had in my life over the last few years. Some of the most emotionally heighten points in recent past for me were met with this song as a strong reminder of just how faithful God is to carry us through hard times and fulfill His promises to us.
The first time I remember hearing this song was when I had the privilege of attending Passion City Church in New York City. I was in town with the Seminole State College of Florida choir under the amazing choir Director, Dianna Campbell. We had the once in a life time chance to perform at Carnegie Hall! It was an indescribably awesome experience! On top of that main event I was able to explore the city for the first time ever on my own and I squeezed as much site seeing into those five days as possible! I had a Hallmark moment on the top of the Empire State building! The second I stepped out onto the roof it began to snow! It was crazy and amazing! I Facetimed my mom and probably cried a little hahaha. That was Saturday night. The next morning I walked to Passion City Church and was blown away by this song.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed my time in NYC, there was an underlying ache for the fact that I was alone in this experience. I love to travel but it’s hard to do so much of it on my own sometimes. At the same time, I do not want to let opportunities for adventure to pass me by. So I continue to travel and experience life but I still look forward to the day I can travel with my man. This song on that Sunday morning reminded me that God is faithful and He will fulfill his promise of a mate for me one day.
Since that first time, I have heard the song over and over again in different circumstances and it reminds me of more than just that one promise. It also reminds me of how He protects me and has provided so much for me in this life that I do not deserve! I am so blessed by the mountains He has moved in my life and I am so grateful that He continues to move them for me each and every day! Stay tuned, His promises are good…
Blessings FAM!
Comment below and let me know how this song has impacted your life. What is a significant event that it has played behind in your journey? If you would like to be more personal and share specifics privately, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the contact form. I would love to hear from you and offer prayers and encouragement if I can.
