I happen to love Mendelssohn’s oratorio ELIJAH. I think I’ve done bits and pieces of it at every church I’ve served over the years and on two occasions presented a large portion of it in local churches with orchestra. [There are stories behind both of those, but I’ll save those for what everyone refers to as “The Book” of all my ministry escapades!]
The tenor solo sung by Obadiah in the oratorio had never resonated with me in any powerful way until I was involved in a staged production at the now-defunct Glorieta Baptist Conference Center in New Mexico. I will never forget when Forbes Woods came down the steps at center stage all decked out in full biblical regalia (fake beard and all) and looked straight into the eyes of all us space-filling singing/ dancing peons on stage and sang “If with all your hearts, ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me. Thus saith our God.” If I were to use a somewhat antiquated phrase, I would say that I ‘came under conviction’ that he was singing directly to me. Fortunately, I did not run to him and make a public re-commitment of my life before we even got to the fire descending from heaven!
This hymn-line seems to echo that scripture from Deuteronomy: wholly seek, wholly find. In any worship time (personal or corporate), this principle seems to work.
I recall reading A.W. Tozer’s little book, THE PURSUIT OF GOD and coming across the chapter titled, "Following Hard after God." All of a sudden I was transported back to New Mexico and realized that Tozer was talking about seeking God with all your heart in worship. I began to call it “whole-hearted worship” and encouraged my worship-leading groups and individuals to never give it their half-hearted effort, but to go after God as aggressively as they possibly could – not in order to find their place in the spotlight at center stage, but to find God – God and God alone (to quote another incredible tenor Steve Green!)
Sometimes I enter worship holey (shot full of holes from the previous week); and when I wholly give myself over to the holy presence of God, I find him wholly true to all he says he is.
Holey. Wholly. Holy.
Listen to This Hymn
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