The hymn “How Great Thou Art” is a treasured favorite for many of us at PBCC. It’s introduction to the church in America came by way of the Billy Graham crusade in the late fifties. The themes of the hymn speak of the wonders of creation and the joys of salvation, culminating in the refrain “Then Sings My Soul”.
Those four words can have different meanings for many of us. As a worship leader and especially with the new orders from the county that prohibit group singing in public, a specific time for me comes to mind when a simple prayer was answered by the Lord in an unexpected way.
I prayed “Lord teach me to worship You.” Part of the process of doing this was by taking from me the ability to sing for two years. He unraveled my world and now had my full attention. It was during this time, standing in a church pew as “How Great Thou Art” was being sung by others, that I learned how to sing from my soul.
We have been given direction from the county to not sing publicly for the safety of others, but that doesn’t mean we cannot together sing from our souls. I recently lead worship for a communion service with our pastors and elders with a fellow worship leader. As we played instrumentally, we all sang from our souls with no voices.
To take a quote from one of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer – “God is calling men and women of all generations everywhere who love the Savior, to adore Him, to adore Him until adoration becomes the music of their soul.” Could it be that this is what we are being taught to do in an unexpected way?
To say that I do not long to sing together like we used to would be untrue. Yet if God is opening a way for us to learn to sing from our souls alone, then wouldn’t it be our privilege to learn it?
The day will come when we will once again sing together, lifting our voices with praise to our God.But until that day, may we have a deeper understanding of how our souls can sing the words, “Then sings my soul”… even with no voice.
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. Psalm 62:1-2