From my heart to yours,
Kambua M.
"My family and I recently moved from Nairobi, Kenya to
a small country town of Dorrigo in Australia. From a bustling city so vibrant
and alive and sometimes chaotic, to a small, beautiful and very calm town with
almost empty streets. The culture shock has been real– the food, weather,
fashion, and even the language. Coming to my husband’s home country I expected some culture shock but I
got more than I expected.
This was a new season for my family and I wanted to
enter its gates with thanksgiving, and so I was ready and willing to embrace
Dorrigo with all of me. However, the church culture completely broke me. Back
home churches were full of worshipers but here I was in a mostly secular
society with somewhat empty churches. I cried. I missed the Kenyan fellowship
where people praised, worshiped and prayed like everything depended on it. I longed for fellowship– fiery fellowship. I felt alone in a far away land.
Sometimes the pain in my heart would be so great that it translated to physical
pain and the tears would keep falling as my heart ached for God.
Walking through the beautiful streets of Dorrigo I fell
in love with this place that was now my home, even though I knew it was a
spiritual desert. Amazingly, even in this mess, I felt how close God was, closer than I had ever felt Him in my life. Most times I would break down in tears, overwhelmed by the undeniable presence of God. Unlike my native home where God is mentioned in
most conversations, I was now in a town where God is hardly part of the
equation, unless of course it is a Sunday morning. Still in this wilderness,
the presence of God was thick and heavy, I could almost touch it.
Several weeks down the line, God, through the writings of a seasoned
worshipper, Steve Swanson, started to teach me about worship. I am not a musician, and so I seek more to
understand the heart as opposed to the art of worship. I am completely wrecked by the beauty of God’s presence and I enjoy it because I was created for worship.
“…for
thou hast created all things, and
for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Revelation
4: 11
Sadly, I meet people who tend to think that worship
is something that only a select few are called to do- the talented, the gifted,
and the skilled. The truth however is far from this since worship is for everyone.
I do not know what it is that you are talented or skilled in, but the one thing
I am sure you were created for, is worship.
Dorrigo is a mountainous
town which is home to an extensive rainforest, with many hills that seem to
reach heaven. So imagine me, walking in the lonely streets of Dorrigo, with
teary eyes overwhelmed by the presence of God! This is it. This is me joining nature’s choir! I may not have been
in Kenya having a fiery worship session, but neither was I alone. I did not
have the pleasure of a band or a choir with me, but I could still join in the
eternal chorus of heaven, to
effortlessly flow in my purpose and join them in worship!
In other words, I did not have to labour to create
an atmosphere of worship since worship is not something that any man can
initiate. No matter how talented or anointed, there is no man on the face of
the earth who can start worship because worship is something that has been
going on in heaven, and all we
do when we come before God is simply join in with the rest of His creation.
This blog post is not about me; it is an effort to
encourage us all to desire to flow in our purpose– worship. Worship is not
about a big stage, fancy lights, or making a crowd have goose bumps. Whether
you can sing or not, whether you can talk or not. You are a worshipper whether
you know it or not, created to exist and function in God’s presence. It is
already in your spiritual DNA; Something that we ought to do
effortlessly, yet many times we struggle so hard to worship instead of just flowing with and in The Spirit.
Our
worship must be one that is separated from the world, one that is not based on
false doctrines and hypocrisy. It must be a worship that is pure and holy, full
of faith, and based on the living Word of God. True and spiritual worship is
one that is offered by hearts that have been sanctified, hearts that have paid
the price of waiting upon God; hearts that can connect in the spirit to the
heavenly realm, enabling them to join in the very song that the heavenly hosts sing to the Lord.
This
is the divine worship that accesses the heart of God and causes the heavens to
open upon God’s people for a greater outpouring of His Spirit. It brings
sanctification and transformation in the lives of people.
This
is the kind of worship that prepares the way of the Lord, and ushers in revival
in the church, in our homes, in our cities and in our nations, when His
manifest glory has been released to us.
My heart’s cry is that you my friend
will be among those worshipers that the Lord is seeking; worshipers
who will arise and join in the eternal chorus of heaven, because creation is
eagerly waiting for the manifestation, the revealing of the sons and daughters
of God, and you are one of them".
Winnie Thuku-Craig
Great thoughts, baraka :)
ReplyDeleteWow! I love this message Winnie! Thank you for sharing Kambua...God bless you.
ReplyDeletetouching piece.may we excel as the worshippers we were created to be
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you for reminding us of our purpose in life. I have always longed for someone to teach the body of Christ how to integrate worship as lifestyle and make it an embodiment of a God-given mandate to live in a continuous state of communion with God. I am glad that you've captured the mood in this blog to change the lives of countless people. Our greatest call and privilege is to worship our Savior and enjoy this union of love forever. What a joy!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you for reminding us of our purpose in life. I have always longed for someone to teach the body of Christ how to integrate worship as lifestyle and make it an embodiment of a God-given mandate to live in a continuous state of communion with God. I am glad that you've captured the mood in this blog to change the lives of countless people. Our greatest call and privilege is to worship our Savior and enjoy this union of love forever. What a joy!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding us Winnie of our purpose in life. You are blessed and God will connect you with people in Dorrigo and in Australia with a heart like yours. And the name of the Lord shall be praised!
ReplyDeleteas i read through winnie's piece, i realized that every individual is called to worship God in all that pertains to his work especially those that have accepted the price he paid for us, Jesus Christ. i always look forward to read from you because we his servants have different ways of teaching and learning his ways and word. thank you because you bless my heart all the time, read through my facebook page and feel free to share your thoughts. lennah ng'ang'a page name is Rebounds of my soul
ReplyDeleteI will look for it. Sorry about the delay in replying.
DeleteNot sure what to say after reading this...been going through a very overwhelming phase...and it happened that on one of these Sundays I was required to lead worship at my church. My efforts to look for a replacement bore no fruits, and so I still remained to be the person to do it. I felt I was not ready...felt that I really had no reason to worship God then, since everything in me and around me was in turmoil. Then God took me to the book of Job...and there I read how Job, despite having received the bad news, tore his robe, fell down and worshiped God! And that's when my eyes opened. We were created to worship God. No matter what is going on in our lives, worship goes on. You don't need a reason to worship God, you simply have to worship Him. In the good or bad times, without music or not, worship to God remains a constant in our lives. So last Sunday I gave it my all. And how fulfilling it was...just to worship God for who He is:). Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Thank you for giving your worship to God even in your dark moment
DeleteAsante sana Winnie Thuku for sharing with us this.I cannot imagine how heavy your heart must've been when you were seeking for the presence of Jehova out there but I am glad you finally found him just like He had promised you would(Jeremiah 29:13).Stay strong in the faith Winnie and present your requests to our God.God bless you and you Family.
ReplyDeleteAmen. God bless you too
DeleteTHIS IS DEEP
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS DEEP
ReplyDeleteHey Winnie, I just read your experience in Dorrigo and it was like you were speaking about me. I relocated to Australia from Nairobi about 20 months ago and the culture shock has been real. But God has been beyond faithful. I am learning to bloom where I am planted. I'd be honoured to meet you or even a phone call �� I live in Port Macquarie. My email is karollmoh1@icloud.com
ReplyDeleteMany blessings to you ����
Sure. Let me connect with you right away. I have just seen this, so sorry about the delay. We moved to Coffs Harbour...
DeleteHello Winnie, I'm Eliud Gilisho 20 years old and I have written the most powerful book about the darker world and what us killing young people.
ReplyDeleteKindly help.me out on this.Google Eliud Gilisho you will be able to learn all what I have done at my age ..in Jesus christ
Beautiful! I was created to worship
ReplyDeleteAn amazing peace right there. Purchased her book 'Broken To Be Made Whole' in 2014 and has been an encouragement all through.
ReplyDelete