It’s great to go to a Christian Music festival with my boys. Here we can worship God to our hearts’ content. Unlike the younger generation however, we elderly citizens are not equipped with ears that are insensitive to high levels of noise.

During a praise service held by Thousand Foot Krutch, I had no choice but to distance myself from the source of the music, as my maximum auditory tolerance had been breached. The songs were so uplifting, but the music was so loud that in the 10 minutes I stood there, my ears were rendered non-functional.

That night I made a pact with God. The following day I would bring my earplugs, specially made in France, to the concerts.

Once again I was facing the Park stage where another worship band named Fireflight was beginning their worship at the sound level only appreciated by teens. As my ears again began to ring, I turned discreetly away from my kids and stuck the waxen plugs into each ear canal. There! Much better! I could still hear the words and the music clearly, but the noise had been reduced a level that was acceptable to my ancient ears.

And there I stood, among hundreds of high school kids, my hands outstretched just as theirs were, worshipping my Maker and Saviour. It sure felt good to worship with my family! Our focus was on God and on Him alone, and I could only thank Him that He had given me the means to enjoy the excessive decibels!

When the music was over, my boys were astonished to see that I was still in one piece. “Wow! Dad! You stayed with us for the entire concert! We never thought you could survive the noise!”

“Our God is truly a Miracle Worker!” I responded with a sly smile.

So often we find excuses to not worship God in the assembly of fellow believers that we call church.

“The music is too loud!”

But isn’t our daily gossiping a bit too loud to God’s ears?

“The church is just a bunch of hypocrites.”

That’s good! We can all feel right at home that way. Don’t tell me that you have always been truthful to your friends and family!

“The preacher talks way too much about money.”

And we don’t?

“People in church don’t care about me!”

And we care about them?

Are we really any better? The church isn’t a perfect 5 star luxury resort. It’s more like a spiritual hospital where no one is truly healthy. However we don’t go to church to find fault. We go to worship the One who loves us so much that He willingly died on a cross so that we could spend eternity with Him.

How much would you be willing to pay if I could offer you eternity? Sooner or later, no matter how hard we try to keep ourselves alive, our time on this planet will run out. At that stage, we will face reality. How much did we truly love while on earth? How much have we responded to the advances of the Lover of our soul? Have we even spent quality time with Him? Can we truly say that we know Him?

Don’t we all hunger to be truly understood? Wouldn’t we be willing to pay someone to help us out of our messes? How much would we be willing to pay that person? Wouldn’t we take the time to be with this individual?

As a believer, we can get all of this for free! So then, why are we so reluctant to spend time with the One who can make a difference in our lives? Why do we resist loving our fellow believers the way Jesus loves them? Will heaven be for just me? If so, it would be a sad place!

David saw worship in a completely different way. This was his greatest wish: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Ps 27:4 NIV)

Maybe this is why that, although David was a sinner, God could declare about him: “I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart.” (13:22 NIV).

No matter what the hindrances we face, God can overcome these for us so that we truly can see Him shine amidst our worship.

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “The Heart of the Matter” devotional series, please click here.)