Everything good in our life is a gift from God. He has given us the beautiful gift of music. As a guitar instructor for over 30 years, I have seen music bless people.
One of my students was a Beverly Hills lawyer who was studying classical guitar. He told me that playing music on the guitar always took him somewhere else and he felt the stress of his work disappear. Relieving stress is a benefit of playing an instrument.
There are many studies showing that playing an instrument causes your brain to develop in both hemispheres. At a homeschooling fair that I exhibited at, one of the moms stopped by our booth to tell us how much her adolescent daughter loved my worship guitar instruction program. He came back later to add that all of his daughter’s grades went up and that he thinks it is related to learning to play the guitar.
There are many good reasons to learn to play an instrument, but adding royal worship places music in a whole new and deeper category. You see, we were created to worship a Holy God. There is a depth of satisfaction in worshiping him that secular music will never touch.
When we worship Him, we fulfill Hebrews 11: 6. This is the scripture that says that without faith it is impossible to please God and that He rewards those who believe He exists and fervently seek Him.
What are those rewards? There are too many to list here, but a big one, and the third benefit of this article, is peace. We have peace with God and we can experience peace regardless of what is happening around us.
One morning while I was worshiping, the phone rang. It was an obscene phone call, but since I was in the presence and peace of God, instead of reacting negatively, I told the caller, in love, that what he was saying was sin.
I told him that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and that if he gave his life to Christ, he would be forgiven and that God could meet all his needs.
Well, he hung up on me and I noticed that I didn’t feel thin or disgusted with the call. Instead, I prayed for him for a time.
The fourth benefit of developing a daily worship time is that it is easier to listen to God. When we practice being in His presence through prayer, worship, and meditation on His Word, we recognize His ways and desires for our lives.
What is the result of aligning with God? Joy. Joy is not the same word as happy. Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was presented to him. I knew that dying for our sins would be painful and horrible, but necessary to redeem us again in a relationship with a Holy God.
We can experience that joy in the trials of our lives. In the book of James, we are told to consider all joy when faced with trials of all kinds. Constant worship brings our hearts in alignment with our Creator and He gives us the strength to endure all things with His peace and joy.
The next benefit I thought of was the fact that we can please God. Again, in Hebrews 11: 6 it says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Therefore, with faith we please God.
When I give a special gift that I know someone wants, it is very exciting. Many years ago my singing teacher mentioned that she and her husband wanted a Troy-Bilt rototiller but that it was too expensive. I approached one of the leaders of a group I was involved in and 30 of us paid for the rototiller. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face when she saw her gift!
How much more is our Father in heaven pleased when we give of ourselves by giving Him our devotion every day? Realizing His pleasure should make us smile as we approach Him with our daily worship.
The last benefit is that it is a tangible way that we can say “Thank you” for all the wonderful gifts that God gives us. I usually end my newsletters with the words ‘Worship Him with all your heart because He loves you with all His’. God bless you.
