His Love, Our Anchor: Navigating the Worship Industry
In the worship industry like any ‘industry’, there are strong forces. Strong currents and strong undercurrents pulling us this way and that way. We are drawn to crave for attention, adoration -comparing follower counts, streaming numbers and influence. Finding our worth (weight) and validation in how good we are (or not) rather than being in Christ. A turbulent concoction of the forces of industry systems, of the Devil, and of the strong, deceitful undercurrents of Self. Wave upon wave upon wave. How can we sail on this journey that is marked out for us?
How can we navigate the storm? How can we stay the path? One answer: Jesus! We need to serve, worship, bow down to, the King over the flood (Ps 29:10). He is King, over ALL kings -including all their forms in the worship ‘industry’. He is sovereign. He is the king who came to be with us in our storms of life -he took on the fiercest storms, gathered by the greatest enemy of all -sin and death. He went through that storm to lead us to walk beside quiet waters.
One of these perils is to make this worship about us and about OUR worship, service, and obedience. Let us set our sights on HIM, the Author of our faith and the Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). It is all Him, from beginning to end. We are not self-made. It is not that He is the author and we are the perfecter. No! It is not that the gospel is our justification, and then sanctification is up to us. No, our sanctification is also Authored and Perfected in Him -in the gospel of His love. This ministry is NOT about us and our worship -measuring our songs, and our hallelujahs, and the hands raised, and our obedience, and our followers and streaming numbers. The attention of the Bride (The church) must be on the Groom (Jesus), not on us, the bridegroom, the wedding attendants. No wonder the Bible uses the metaphor of adultery when explaining the thrall of idolatry!
Let us set our sights on HIM. HE is the One, not us. He is the True North. His love is the truest, greatest, strongest love. No other loves can sustain us. No other loves can take us through the storms of life. His love is our anchor in the storm, and an anchor firm and secure (entering the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf. Heb 6:19-20). And HE must be the One leading our worship -He guides us; He leads us in triumph; He leads us in song.
It’s HIS light -the light of the Lamb of God -that will blaze over us ever brighter, while all other lights will go out.
It’s HIS love that is unshakeable. It’s far above all the shakings of this world. HIS is the love that endured the cross for the joy set before Him. It will not fade. Why would we be enamoured by any other love, craving, attention? We already have it in unbounded measure, in Jesus.
Oh, does this not just make your heart want to burst out into song? It is the gospel. It is the filling of the Holy Spirit -to the overjoyed, overflowing elation of song.