Worship by Being Me...

This morning, I sensed that God was reminding me of the verse:

'He (Jesus) answered, "I tell you, if these (his disciples) were silent, the very stones would cry out"' Luke 19:40

I thought about what it would sound like for stones to cry out.

Then I felt God say to me,

When a stone is simply being a stone it is worshipping me.

When a stone is being a stone and not trying to be a tree, it is worshipping me.

The message that I think God was telling me is that, when I am the me that he made me to be, then I am worshipping him. The very act of being who he created me to be is an act of worship to him.

Living in a Christian Missions Community, I constantly see amazing Christians, people who reflect Jesus in a beautiful way.

Even just this weekend. We have a girl staying with us at the moment. She is a missionary in India. She is 20 years old. She told me that ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to be a missionary in India. I find this just so beautiful. She is so young and yet so brave. She had a dream and just... did it! She was in India for the past 6 months. She wore only a sari and ate only Indian food. She just made a commitment to stay there for another 2 years.

The Director of this Base is an amazingly charismatic man. He can be in front of any audience and can hold them spellbound. He is not a large man, but he fills the room with his presence.

The School Leader of the school I staff this year had 3 very successful businesses and was a photographer for National Geographic. Four years ago, he felt that God was asking him to give it all up. So he did. He sold the businesses and now works full time in YWAM. He is married with a 2 year old.

These are just some of the incredible people I get to see every day. 

And yet God did not make me to be ANY of them. God made me to be... me...

One YWAM Speaker is known for his expression, 

'If you copy someone else, the best you will ever be is a copy of the someone else.'

The journey of discovering my identity in God is and then just being me is worship to God because it says that he did a good job, that I am grateful for who he chose me to be and that he is perfect in his decisions and that the 'me' he chose me to be is a wonderful gift.

Imagine if you took the time to create a completely original present for someone and they proceeded to complain about it every day for the rest of their life?

Ending was the Best Part

The outreach has come to an end and I must confess, my highlight of the week was walking into my room after the debrief today and realizing that I don't have to think 10 steps ahead anymore, organize people, plan programs, etc. etc. That was a joy!

This evening, I had dinner at Charles and Rosalie's place, my neighbours in the YWAM 23 House. Irene from the office was also there. It was healing to be there, to have a family meal, to celebrate communion, share stories about the week, pray, eat good food, wash the dishes together and drink nice coffee, still sharing and discovering more about each other.

A new challenge is looming ahead of me now, and drawing near very quickly. I am in the worship team for the coming 50th Celebration of YWAM that is being held in Singapore. I am leading worship for one of the sessions... This will really test my words. Am I genuine when I say that worship is a lifestyle that overflows, or am I performance driven? Do I want to look good, especially in front of the 'greats' of YWAM, glorifying myself, putting on a good show? To be honest, there is an edge of that. I DO want to look good and be seen to be looking good.

However, that is ugly. Worship should NEVER be about me, to make me look good or to draw attention to myself. When I have that focus, I get nervous. Because it is about me...

God, I really want to make this worship about YOU. I want to lead people to YOU and then step back, not even be the focus. But my pride and ambition is getting in the way... Please help me...