Dear Fellow Students,

            Have you ever thought about worship before; like, really thought about it? There are so many ways of giving praise to God, aren’t there! It can be simply praying and thanking God for His many blessings, or marveling at the awesomeness of His creation.

            But probably the first picture that comes into your mind when the word “worship” is mentioned is that of a church service, the congregation worshipping through song. Even then there are many different ways to go about worshipping Jesus. It can be extravagant, or, it can be simple, with maybe only one instrument, or even none!

            Every church I have belonged to (or, at least, every church I remember) has been on the simple side. I’ve been in one which had no music. But it was only when I got a taste of the ornate side of worship that I began to get discontent. I was thinking; okay, now this is what God wants?

            God doesn’t have a preference of how we worship Him, as long as it is holy and pure according to the Bible. This is what I knew, but I didn’t want to accept it. Have you ever struggled with discontentment in that area? I wanted something different; the “run-of-the-mill,” as I considered them, hymns, just weren’t good enough. It was not until I started really paying attention to the words I was singing that I began to appreciate them.

            If you have ever struggled with this, then I want you to do something. Go read the words to any worship song or hymn. Really read them; as in, don’t read them singing through in your head; read them like you would a story. Even the simplest songs that you have heard all of your life and now sing mechanically have powerful messages. The song that comes to mind is Amazing Grace. I must have sung that song a hundred times in my lifetime without paying attention to the extremely significant words in a seemingly trivial song.

            Many hymns were written in time of peril and hardship; they speak of crying out to God, and letting Him be our Deliverer; or of the beautiful mercy He shows us when we do not deserve it. New worship songs are almost the opposite; many of them stemm from simply a feeling of happiness and delight in Jesus, or with a purpose to change someone’s life. Both are precious to God if they are truly sung to Him. So next time you stand up in church; wherever you are, or whatever song you sing, think of it as a letter to Jesus. Is it something you believe in? Do you want God to hear you? Then sing it out, make a “loud noise,” and worship Him for who He is!

            Psalm 146:2, “While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.”