Being an engineering major (I know, I know, it’s ok you didn’t know), a lot of time I was just thrown complicated equations and expected to apply real life to it. It was a struggle, with my few music classes giving me a breath of fresh air a few times a week. I wasn't sure what to do with the equations and engineering principles sometimes, because most of the time they apply to only a certain set of conditions, assumptions, etc. But sitting in my mechanical vibrations class, I learned about the concept that everything has a resonant frequency, which is the frequency at which an object/thing/whatever-is-being-talked about resonates at its maximum amplitude. Stay with me here. So once this “thing” is vibrating at a specific rate that everything about it says, “This is it!” and it goes crazy. It shakes almost uncontrollably. Bridges have collapsed because the wind simply caused it to vibrate at it’s resonant frequency. It’s crazy stuff. So I asked myself, “Everything has a resonant frequency? Everything?!?” What about “things” we can’t necessarily see? …Like our souls?
God created everything so wonderfully. And through it all, He designed all of it to point back to Himself, so that all that He created can be reminded of how much He loves us. I know every time I see a breathtaking mountain view or feel the power of the ocean while at the beach, I can’t help but think about how powerful God is and how powerful His love is for each one of us. And when we recognize the power of God’s love, we are encouraged to open ourselves up to Him to grow into a deeper relationship with Him. And when we open up to Him, we experience and share in God’s love, the love that poured from the cross. Yet something special happens in our hearts, our souls, our entire beings when we open up to His love. Something that is difficult to explain…without the idea of the resonant frequency.
I think we are created with a resonant frequency, and that frequency is the love of God, which is God Himself since God is love. When we are shaken by that frequency, by God’s love, our entire being resonates. It resonates far more than when anything else tries to shake us. That resonance is worship. So often we make worship out to be something it’s not. It’s not about the music, the person singing next to you off-key, the hand motions, the light show or lack-thereof, the awkward smell wafting around the room, etc. It’s the position of the heart, and if that position is open to God. It’s about resonating with His love, and that’s it. If we’re wondering why sometimes we just feel like a time of worship was shallow and meaningless for us, maybe we’re simply not allowing ourselves to resonate with God regardless of any externalities. Many times we bring a lot on our shoulders to worship moments that shouldn’t even be there in the first place, like preconceived notions about what the worship time should be (and if it lives up to that expectation), things that dampen our ability to resonate. We need to be conscious of these things, and lay them down before God, because He alone can heal, nourish, and sustain.
Next time we worship, I pray that we can open our hearts fully to Him, so that we can fully resonate with His love the way He created us to. Let’s pray, Lord, help us when we worship to grow in our love for You, so that we can love like You.