Praise Gone Mute

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’"

Mark 12:30

With no voice, how was I to praise? What sweet sound of worship could I offer? I stood in awkward silence amongst my family in a crowded sanctuary dressed in reds and greens, wanting with all my heart to lift my voice in praise. But the sacrifice had already been offered; my voice ̶ fallen victim to seasonal laryngitis.

“What do I have to offer you, my God and my King on this silent night?” I begged.
 Clearing my throat, I squeaked out a string of monotone harmonies to which my concerned three-year-old granddaughter asked, “Grams? Why does your voice sound so funny?” If her ears cringed from my singing laryngitis, I knew it I’d better stop before those directly in front of us turned ‘round with pitiful smiles.

Again, I asked, “What do I have to offer you, my God? How do I praise you with muted voice?”

The choir stood close while we sat quiet ̶ listening. And then, His Spirit moved; swept over me and through the room swelling hearts until those seeking were filled with in audible praise. You could see it in our faces, read it in our movement, almost touch it-God with us. 

Worship is more than singing, more than a song and a voice. God created us with bodies, minds, and spirits and asks us to worship Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and strength. And when we do, He draws near and we experience God with us.

When we find ourselves limited either physically, emotionally, or spiritually, God says, “I’m limitless. Find a way to worship me from where you are (even in silence) and I will meet you there.”