It's Just A Song...Right?

There's this song....
It's amazing in every form and fashion. It's a simple chord progression--nothing fancy. The words are simplistic yet strange. The whole thing gets stuck in your brain, ears, heart, and spirit like nothing I've ever experienced in my life.

It's just a song....right?

The song is called "How He Loves," and it's been recorded by a woman named Kim Walker (www.jesusculture.org). She has a very unique but captivating voice, and the recording is live which makes it that much more interesting. The first time I heard it was when the worship leader at our church emailed it to me. It was the youtube video of Kim W. singing it, and it swept me off of my feet. THEN, he decides that we should sing it in church. That's when the craziness began.

If you enjoy watching youtube videos and want to experience this for yourself, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps

Anyway, the Sunday night that we practiced this song for the next Sunday's worship time, something happened....something big. For the first time in my entire 20 years of playing the violin, I was taken over. Literally. My fingers found notes that I had yet to use, I was moving with the flow of the music. The performance part of it was taken out, and all that was left was the Spirit who had complete access to my bow, fingers, instrument, and heart. From that moment on, I knew something was stirring and a new level of worship/understanding/enlightenment/awakening was coming. Excitement doesn't even begin to describe my feelings.
For the entire past week, I have had that song playing--whether it be in the car, the computer, or the ipod. It just has captivated me. I've seen things happen in the past few days that have NEVER happened before, and it has allowed me to shed the skin of embarrassment and frustration regarding my spirituality and beliefs. Honestly, I felt like I've been sitting at Jesus' feet for days upon end, not feeling the need to get up and leave--I've felt just like Mary, if you will.

It's just a song....right?

Wrong. It becomes way more than a song when the words fly off of the page and slap you in the face-no matter how simple or complex they may be. When your insides get rocked and your stomach does summersaults every time you hear the music, you know something's changing. It's a means to a new end. It's a catapult that has launched me into the next phase of my spiritual life. I feel His presence hovering over me constantly now, and I just feel so hungry for not only His words, but HIM.

This past Sunday morning, something took over. I know it was the Spirit, and that in and of itself is just amazing. A literal wave of heat burned through the sanctuary as people began praying over each other, speaking His words of encouragement to a neighbor, and much more. Those of us on the worship team were seriously feeling the burn. I was pouring sweat, and my fingers were just completely out of my control on the fingerboard of my violin. I think we played for 8-10 minutes straight.
How absolutely glorious it is when the Spirit is allowed to flow freely in a place. I won't ever be the same--that is a guarantee. Situations and things John and I have been praying about for so long are about to happen. I feel it DEEP in my bones, even more so than before.

It's just a song...right?

No, it's much more than that. It was a touch on the heart from the God--the God of Jacob who formed the earth and all that is in it. His breath was on my cheek, His fire in my soul. He was most definitely smiling, I just know it.

"There are some of you who have never encountered the love of God. Today, God wants to encounter you. He wants to encounter you. Without Him they ARE just songs, words, and instruments. Without Him we just make noise. But, His loves changes us. We are never the same---we are never the same when we encounter the love of God. Right now, if you've encountered the love of God, then you would know---because you wouldn't be the same. You would never be the same again. And, if you haven't encountered the love of God, then just brace yourselves, because He's about to blow through this place."
Kim Walker