When I'm in DC, I attend NCC (National Community Church). NCC is a multi-site church, scattered throughout the city. Their lead pastor is Mark Batterson, and most importantly...it owns a spectacular coffee shop. This summer, they are doing a 9 week series titled 'The God Anthology.' Their premise is that they are going to take 9 weeks exploring 9 different characteristics of God. So far, we have covered 'mystery,' 'holiness,' 'faithfulness,' and 'wrath.' Each week has been spectacular. For every sermon, they have had one of their worship leaders write a song describing that particular trait of God. I've loved each week.
To coordinate their messages and the worship songs, NCC put up a website (www.godanthology.com) where you can go and listen to the sermons as well as the songs they are writing. The songs have been posted before the sermons are preached on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings.
Because I'm impatient, the first week I found out that NCC was publishing the songs on this new website, I got home, looked them all up and listened to them. I loved the 'mystery' song, because I had just heard it at church, but when I tried listening to the rest of them, I didn't really 'get' them. I heard them, but they just sounded like songs and I didn't necessarily like any of them.
The next week, Pastor Mark preached on holiness and I LOVED the song. When I got home, I (again) went onto the website, and listened to the song they had posted...just to make sure it was the same song I had tried listening to 7 days ago and decided I didn't like. Sure enough...it was the exact same song. Surprisingly, the same thing happened the next week at church during the 'faithfulness' sermon and song.
I couldn't figure out why I all of a sudden enjoyed these songs...when a mere week before I was less than impressed with them. One morning, I was doing my devotions, and decided to include the song from the faithfulness sermon into my devotion time. I wanted to listen to and absorb those words before my day started. In the chorus to this song, they sing the line 'your follow through is never late.'
I couldn't help but realize that this line implies that God's follow through is never early either...his timing is perfect. When He wants us to learn and see...we will. But, we will never be able to see or learn on our own. Ironically, He was teaching me this lesson through these sermons and their matching songs. I wanted to learn this songs and the lessons they brought with them so badly that I wasn't willing to space them out when I found the God Anthology website. I tried listening to each song in a row, and got frustrated when I didn't learn about God's holiness, faithfulness and wrath through these songs in a mere 3 minutes each.
The reason I couldn't learn each lesson through these songs when I wanted to was because I was doing it on my time...not God's. Because it was on my time and rushed...I couldn't hear the words fully and learn them. However, as I'm now patiently waiting and going to each sermon once a week, then singing the songs as a reflection of the sermon I just heard...the songs are filled with meaning. And, as I sing each of them as an act of worship, I'm falling in love with every song. It wasn't that I'm not supposed to love these songs...it's that I'm supposed to love them on God's timing, and as He reveals himself to me on His schedule, I will love each song...because God's follow through is never late :)
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