EXPRESS YOURSELF

LaMar shares a story of how it was so hard for him to use bodily expressions in his worship and challenges us to express ourselves freely in worship.

Resources for You
https://www.facebook.com/lamarboschman
https://twitter.com/lamarboschman
https://www.instagram.com/lamarboschman
https://www.lamarboschman.com

TRANSCRIPT
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. Ps. 134:2

I remember the first time I was asked to express myself in worship. I was eighteen years old, and a friend had told me about a church with a great choir featuring rhythm, brass, and string sections. We arrived early on a Sunday night—the church was packed.

At seven o’clock, the choir marched in from the back of the sanctuary. Their purple robes flowed as they walked briskly to the tempo of the song, singing in four-part harmony. As they passed me down the center aisles, I felt a chill. Not only were they singing powerfully, but they were also clapping their hands. When they reached the front of the sanctuary, they filled the choir loft, and all 120 of them lifted 240 hands.

As a Mennonite at the time, I was not used to seeing hands lifted in worship or hearing people say, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” I didn’t know what any of this meant. My heart started to race. I was nervous and awestruck at the same time.

Later, during another service at the same church, I was sitting in the middle of a pew when the Lord impressed upon me a verse I had read earlier: "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." It was as if Jesus was speaking to me.

I wrestled with the scripture. First, I said, “Lord, that is for the Pentecostals.”

Then I heard it louder in my spirit: “Lift YOUR hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.”

I argued again, “I’m Mennonite. We don’t do that.”

The next time, the Lord was firm with me: “LIFT your hands, and bless the Lord.”

I knew the Lord was firmly asking me to express my worship to Him. I will never forget how hard it was for me to lift my hands that day. I was afraid everyone would look at me. But I knew I had to submit and do it. So I lifted my right hand behind the head of the man in front of me and looked around to see if anyone noticed. No one seemed interested, so I raised it higher. What a sensation! I felt as if I were going to fly. My spirit rose inside me. My whole body seemed lighter as I raised my arms over my head and reached my hands toward the ceiling. My burdens fell off. My spirit soared.

All of a sudden, I wanted everyone to see what I was doing. I looked around, but no one saw me lift my hand, for they too had their hands and arms outstretched toward heaven. They were all singing their own praises to the Lord with their eyes closed.

"What is happening here?" I asked myself. For a while, I wrestled with the expressive forms of worship. Is it biblical? Why don’t other churches worship like this? Two things helped settle these issues for me. First, this kind of worship was encouraged in the Scriptures. Secondly, when I obeyed God and participated, I sensed it was real and very fulfilling.

I believe the Lord is leading us into a new level of intimacy in worship. This rebirth of worship is the sovereign work of the Lord in our hearts. I want to encourage you to develop a more intimate relationship with Jesus. Be open to doing whatever He asks. Obey Him, and you too will find freedom and a lift in your spirit as you worship Him.