Better Is One Day

I have recently become hooked on a "new" song. Truth be told, it's kinda old, as in I remember first learning it in high school (which means it was at least 8 years ago, that's depressing). It's the Kutless version of "Better Is One Day." As of lately, I've been leading the high school praise band for our Sunday night fellowship/worship time called Summer Praise. I've absolutely loved doing it because well, music is one of my things. I work with a great group of people to put the songs together every week. However, they definitely have the taste for more of a rock style music which is a bit different than the camp, acoustic worship songs. So I've been trying to expand my horizons. I came across Kutless quite randomly. In fact, I think I've had their stuff on my computer for most of the year but didn't start listening to it till this summer. And I've fallen in love with their praise and worship album Strong Tower which is rock at heart.

My favorite cut off it it happens to be the song "Better Is One Day." The other people in the band hadn't heard the song before so we spent a lot of time this week running it, especially since we were playing with it, trying to get down parts and the beat, mixing things up, and what not. We were trying to do it in a very similar fashion to the album version and slowly but surely it came together. It's a powerful song when you're just doing it with a guitar and we definitely crank it up to another level with the band.

Tonight we got the chance to crank it out for worship and it was great. One of the curses of being a worship leader and being, well, me and being hyper sensitive to everything that's going on around me and also making sure everyone in the band is on the same page, that I'm singing the right words, that I'm playing the right words, and so on and so forth, well, it's hard to get lost in the music and worship like I'm used to during worship. This is the curse of being a worship leader whether I'm in front of a group of high school and middle school youth or in front of the congregation on any given Sunday. It's always a struggle to worship and to lead at the same time. Living in that tension often seems to leave me unsatisfied with both aspects of my worship life.

And yet, tonight, I totally felt it. Tonight, I lost myself in the words and the meaning behind the song. I'm not sure what was different. But, that's the thing about music, it can move you at unexpected times. And in this moment, this song spoke to me.

I expect has something to do with the fact that I now only have one week left at my internship site. I now find that time is precious. That every hour of every day needs to be spent wisely. And I also realize how precious my time has been here. It's not necessarily precious because of what I've done here or because of what other people have done for me. Instead, it's because at this place I have truly felt God. I have realized that these days have been special because of what God has done. They are special because I have truly felt Gods' presence, that I have been in his house and his courts while I've been here. I have stood on holy ground here whether it's been on the altar in the sanctuary, behind the pulpit in the gym aka Spirit Hall, on the beaches at St. John's Island for Habitat, the streets of New York City with the Experience Tour, the slopes of WV skiing with the youth, or the tile floor of the fellowship hall where we hold Summer Praise each week. God has been present in every place and I have felt like I've been standing in his courts and his house and that has been what has made each day so valuable. It is in these places and on these days that I've experience the Gospel, the love and grace of God in a very real and tangible way.

This song also reminds me of the very real need of God. For it is in God's presence that I am truly satisfied. It is there that I find grace, love, and hope. It is there that I can throw off all the sin that I carry around, all the burdens of worrying about what promises to be one of the toughest transitions of my life. It is in God's presence that I find myself in the shadow of the cross and am reminded of how much I have been given in spite of the fact that I deserve none of it. It's humbling and it gives me peace and comfort.

The funny thing is that this past year that I have found God's presence most often in the company of others. This experience has been something to be shared and has been magnified in the company of others. Though I have had my moments in solitude, the joy seems to be multiplied when I have been with others. And that reminds me of the importance of sharing this with others, of sharing these experiences with others.

And all of this is not to say that God isn't present at all times because he certainly is. In Psalm 121 it says that he who watches over us neither slumbers nor sleeps and I very much believe it. However, I believe there are those moments where we are made aware of God's presence is felt more than others maybe because we're more open to it, we're more in need, or he simply chooses to reveal himself to us in an unexpected way. I don't pretend to understand it all, I simply trust that God is present and that sometimes I get a glimpse of what it will be like to be in his courts and his house for eternity.

Better is one day in your courts
Better is one day in your house
Better is one day in your courts
Than thousands elsewhere.