“But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24
Last week, I studied verses on God’s Love to move along the renewal of first love in my life. The major discovery I made was that I had been lax in a dedicated time of study, prayer, and sharing that had been foundational to my growth as a believer.
However, something else I learned was that being too legalistic can hinder and not help. And, because change seems to work well with me, if kept in moderation, this week, still continuing to strengthen my relationship with God, the focus is on worship. Keeping the dedicated time, focus, and sharing is how I work best; this week’s series will look at worship. In particular, worship in music.
The scripture in John shared above relays the significance of worship in our lives. It is important to understand that worship is not just the worship songs offered within a church service. Worship is a way of life: Prayer, song, ministry – things that reflect Jesus to others. We are instructed to worship the Father in spirit and truth. It explains since God is spirit, we are to worship Him with the strength of the spirit He promised and gave when we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit became our teacher, our counselor, or intercessor in prayer. These are perfect examples of worshiping in spirit, in His Spirit.
Because music is key in my life, it ministers to me greatly. I offer a week of worship songs that have spoken of God’s great love to the depths of my spirit. That includes hymns as well as contemporary Christian songs. It will also include some basic information on the song and how it came to be written.
Today, I’ll offer my favorite hymn, It Is Well (With My Soul). I heard it in the church service yesterday, and I used to love to sing it when I was a part of a worship team. It often leads to tears when the words relay the significance of all Jesus did for me. For all of us.
I own no rights to the videos below. They can be viewed on YouTube.
Following is one man’s report on the song’s history.
Several legends have grown up around the great Christian hymn “It Is Well.” The primary sources help establish a more accurate understanding of the origins of this hymn. Some versions overly sentimentalize the facts, gloss over Spafford’s doctrinal drift, or completely ignore the events surrounding the composer of the tune that accompanied the lyrics. The actual facts are moving enough even without sentimentalizing them. Nevertheless, the story of the writing of both lyrics and tune is a source of great encouragement and hope to those who struggle under the burden of overwhelming sorrow. May this video inspire you with that hope.
Faith By Choice 