THE DEEPER THE PIT, THE HIGHER THE PRAISE

Psalm 40:2-3  "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

Heavenly Father, I want to thank You with all my heart, again, tonight, for Your goodness to me, Your faithfulness and Your mighty love for me.  When I think of where I was just a few years ago, yes, it did not look like I was in a pit, but spiritually I was drowning in the mire.  To look at me, all looked right, but You knew my heart, my soul, You could see the deep longing in myself to become the person You made me to be, not just someone playing the part. I wanted to be that person, I wanted You to take complete control of my life, pull me out of the depths of despair I could feel strangling me and lift me to Yourself, cleanse the dirtiness from me and make me into the child You knew I was meant to be.  And You did, You lifted me out of the shame I carried inside, and into the Light of my Savior.  The Holy Spirit began to operate in me, showing me what was needed for me to be who I was in You, and leading me deeper and deeper into the things You had for me, lifting me higher and higher into Your presence.

I began to worship You my Lord with all my heart, all my being.  I began to not fear what people would think, what they would say, as I just began to bubble over with Your goodness, Your love and I began to praise You day and night.  You are my life, I want everyone to know it and I will not ever just sing songs, I will be worshiping You with all that is within me, for all my days, as long as You give me breathe, and then I will worship at Your feet in Your throne room.

Being on a Praise and Worship team for so many years, yes, you really can do this, even when you are not truly praising and worshiping; you are just singing songs.  Even when your heart is so low and saddened by life's choices, life's demands and hurts and sorrow, you can stand up in front of people and lead.  Shameful isn't it?  But my Lord is so good, He is a restorer of life, especially when you have such a repentive heart, giving it all to Him, He removes the shame and replaces it with such a Glow of Glory through His righteousness.  He will cause Himself to shine all over you.  But, back to what I wanted to tell you, standing in front, on the team, you see what is on the faces of the people in the congregation.  You can see those who come in late, miss half or all of the worship service, just there as it is what they do on Sunday mornings.  And then there are those, like myself, who are there for one reason, and one reason only; to WORSHIP THE LORD.  That is their one intention, to give to back to the Lord, their heartfelt worship, their praise for His sweet annointing on their lives, His precious Son's atoning salvation, the lifting from the pit, the saving of their very lives.  And the deeper the pit they were in, you can tell, the higher the praise, the more intense the worship is, flowing wave after wave of pure love offerings up to their Father, their Redeemer, their Savior; imploring the Holy Spirit to come, pour out on them as they want only His presence, the presence of Almighty God.  I truly loved seeing this, as I knew my heart of pure worship was blending with theirs as the sound of worship flowed upwards to the Father's ear, letting Him hear the song of His redeemed, of those He has such a special bond with.  You know the Father loves all His children, but I truly feel, that when those prodigals, like myself, return to Him and let Him know day after day, moment by moment, how much we love Him, how much we adore Him and how we want only to worship Him, glorifying His Holy Name, well, I think He has a special place in His heart for us, a deep affection that only grows stronger each day as we give all we have to worshiping Him, living for Him alone.

The deeper the pit, the more shame we carried, that burden that was lifted by our Lord when He redeemed us, cleansed us with His precious blood, the peace and joy He put in us replacing those thoughts of rejection and self hatred, the love He pours into us, new mercies each day, His presence in our lives; yes, the higher the praise, the sweeter the worship to Him, the new songs coming from our spirits, words of adoration and thanksgiving; all for Him, our Beloved Lord.  Never turning back, no, Lord, I am never turning back, I cannot bear to be without You, without Your presence in my life. I love You so much.

This 28th day of August, 2011, I find myself seeking You, my Lord, seeking a deeper and even more intimate relationship with the God of my salvation, my beautiful Lord.  Thanking You, my Lord, for Your love, for lifting me up to You.  I will give You my highest praise, my songs of worship each day, each night, as I feel Your love and grace pour over me anew, each day, as I walk with You.