Think back a few years with me and remember the days of your endearing childhood birthdays. Maybe you can recall a specific birthday or even a party that you may have had. You can picture the cake, the family, the friends and I know you can recall those gifts wrapped in Spiderman or Cinderella paper! But what about those cards that we're tucked inside each gift? If you were like me, a well-mannered, polite and charming young man, then I'm sure you cherished every word that was written on those cards!
Sure you did! Who are we kidding? I can't remember any of those cards and certainly not what was written on them. All I cared about was one thing, that crisp-green dollar bill that would occasionally fall into my lap as I opened the card. My little mind only said one thing..."Show me the money!"
For some reason, as we grew up, people stopped stuffing our cards with the good stuff! Instead our friends and family stood for hours in Hallmark reading card after card until they found one that was worded just right.
As a worship leader, I can sometimes stand for hours and hours going through all the songs until I find the perfect ones for each service. The ones that we, as a congregation, can sing to God and express just how much he is worth to us. As we come together we have the opportunity to bring an awesome gift of worship and praise to our King of Kings.
But let's go back to the birthday cards for a moment. We all appreciate our cards because we know that someone took a lot of time in picking them out. But then, there is that one card that we sometimes get! The one where someone who cared about us so much decided to write something extra. They deviated from the generic writing on the card and went into an expression in their own words and from their own heart. You know? The one that touches your heart and brings out the tissues!
I'm sure that God enjoys each song we sing to Him. But just like us, He loves when we deviate from the words on the screen and begin to express, in our own words, how much He means to us. When a congregation can come together singing a spontaneous and unique song directly from their own hearts, He is touched. The expression of someone's heart is way better than money any day! When God hears us singing from our heart, He instantly begins to inhabit our praise!
