A few years ago, my wife and i found ourselves in the midst of a gathering of twenty-four worship leaders that God is using, not only to lead their local fellowships in worship, but also the greater body of Christ through the worship songs they are composing. On one particular night, we were all led in the darkness through a wooded area to a room that was away from the main campus where we were meeting. The intent was that we would experience a taste of the daily lives of our persecuted brothers and sisters in many parts of the world who need to gather in secret to worship. The evening was facilitated by good friends – Nik and Ruth Ripken.
As the evening went on, Nik shared the testimonies of men and women that God has permitted him to meet – testimonies of God’s mercy and grace in the midst of persecution. Nik explained that each one of these men and women had a heartsong – a song that God had stamped in their hearts. It was a song of God’s faithfulness, His goodness and His grace. It was most often what God brought to their minds – from within their hearts – when they were walking through moments of great persecution. It was the song that kept them going. It was a song that communicated the realness of Who God is, how He loved them, and how He would see them through. In some instances, it may have been a hymn or a worship song that others had written – but in many instances, it was an original song that God had written on their hearts as they walked through trials and pain.
Nik then asked that group of worship leaders what their heartsong was. For a few moments the room was silent, but then gradually – one by one – one at a time over the next couple of hours – those men and women sang their heartsongs. Again, for many it was hymns; for others it was a worship song. But for all, it was a song that expressed the cry of their hearts. It was a cry that bore witness to that moment in each of our lives when God became real to us – and the bedrock of His truth was laid in our hearts. i can’t even think about that night without tears coming to my eyes. It was possibly the holiest moment i have ever experienced, as we bowed before the Lord and worshiped Him through those heartsongs.
Those of you who have been following my blog have noticed that periodically i will write about the foundational truth expressed through a worship song. Many of the worship songs we sing are in fact the heartsongs of the people who composed them. It sprang out of a personal encounter with our Living Lord. And the truth is – when you encounter our God in a real way – your life is never the same. Your life is transformed. And many of these songs are an expression of a transformed heart.
All of this was going through my mind this past Sunday as we sang “Tremble”2. The song begins with the lyrics:
Peace, bringing it all to peace
The storm surrounding me
Let it break at Your name
Each day, i am receiving emails and posts from people who are in the midst of a storm. They are in a scary place. It is a storm that is characterized by many things – but not one of them is peace. The men and women that are writing, fear that they are about to drown in the storm – and many are without hope. As i heard these lyrics, i was reminded of the disciples that night in the midst of the sea. The storm was raging, and these men, many of whom were experienced fishermen, thought they were going to perish (Mark 4:35-41). They struggled against the storm before, as a last resort, they called out to Jesus who was asleep in the boat. They had no clue what He was capable of doing. They were just looking for another pair of hands to help bail out the water. But instead, Jesus rebuked the wind and commanded the waves to be still. In a single moment, the disciples went from being in the midst of a raging storm to being in a place of still and calm. Their location hadn’t changed, but their situation sure had! And the disciples were absolutely terrified! (Mark 4:41) They trembled! He had “called the sea to still”, and caused the rage around the disciples and the fear within them “to still”. He silenced fear.
If we are His follower, that same Jesus is right there with us in the midst of our storm – no matter what it is. That same Jesus is able to still our storm. He is able to take that rage and fear, and immediately transform it into peace and calm. When will we learn that He isn’t our last resort, rather He is to be our first? The disciples at least had the excuse that they had never seen Jesus still a storm. We don’t have that excuse. We have it on the authority of good and faithful witnesses that He is able. We will go a long way toward learning it, when we finally let go, cry out to Him and experience His peace. At that moment, He will write His song in our hearts – and from then on, we will sing it to Him in worship.
Excerpts from Walking With The Master
i encourage you to go to nikripken.com to hear more testimonies about our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ
Tremble (lyrics)
Peace, bringing it all to peace
The storm surrounding me
Let it break at Your name
Still, call the sea to still
The rage in me to still
Every wave at Your name
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus
Breathe, then call these bones to live
Call these lungs to sing
Once again, I will praise
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus
(Repeat)
Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny
Your name cannot be overcome
Your name is alive forever lifted high
Your name cannot be overcome
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus (Repeat 2x)
Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny
Your name cannot be overcome
Your name is alive forever lifted high
Your name cannot be overcome
(Repeat)
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus
Songwriters: Andres Figueroa / Charles Bentley / Mariah McManus / Mia Fieldes
Tremble lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Essential Music Publishing