By:  Melody Olivarez
The School of Worship Band

 

As a worship leader at the Honor Academy,  I have the privilege to usher people into the throne room of God. It is so awesome to see authentic worship given to God from surrendered and broken hearts. I love to see people of every age transformed by the loving Father as they lift up an undignified, God-focused praise.
For a while I struggled with taking full responsibility when I thought that some of the congregation was not engaging in worship. I felt responsible if people were not being transformed when I knew that the presence of God was moving in a powerful way. I began to think things like,” If I only sang better or said a better prayer then people would respond more.”

 

I realized that I began to push harder in the physical by trying to sing better and louder. Although these are not wrong things to do, my heart behind them was to get a response from the people rather than lifting up my own praise to God. They responded, for a while. Then God asked me, “Now what?” I realized I was exhausted after worship and did not know where or what the next level was. I took this to God because I didn’t understand what was going on. Why weren’t people responding? Was I not doing my job well enough?

 

John 4 spoke volumes to me. Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well and revealed that He is the Savior that she had heard about. When the woman declared that he was a prophet, Jesus paid no attention to that. He did not talk about how great of a man he was or how many miracles he performed. He knew where she was at in life, and pointed her to Himself.

 

Transformation began in her life, not because she met a prophet or a great songwriter or a great worship leader. Transformation began because she had an encounter with Jesus, her Savior. I began to ask myself, “Am I pointing people to Jesus or are am I relying on my own gifts and relationship with God to bring change in the heart of man? Am I limiting God’s power by thinking that if I do everything right then people will worship Him?” The truth is I was relying on my own gifts, strength, and relationship with God.  Silly me!

 

God showed me through John 4 that if I show people who Jesus is, and they choose to meet with Him, they will worship Him. I felt like all pressure was off. I realized that my gifts and talents would never change the heart of man. They were never meant to. It is only a tool that God chooses to use when I use them for His glory.
After every service I get to lead worship for I have to remind myself of this truth. I do see that there are some people who do not engage in worship and I have to stop and remind myself that what I did was for God and his people. I have to ask myself, did I show people Jesus? If I did or did not, leave it to Him to have His way. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life,  no one gets to the Father except through Him. (John14:6)