It was on the treadmill surrounded by scores of other sweaty people at the gym when it struck me so strongly for the first time. I’m not sure why it took so many years after it was released to become meaningful but it did. Jacque and I had recently been through a major loss and we were in terrific emotional pain. I was probably at my most cynical point during this particular point in the process and that night at the gym this song began playing on my iPod:
You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse butIf I ever lose my faith in you
There’d be nothing left for me to do
For me, that time on the treadmill listening to Sting was an amazing worship experience. God moved on my spirit and I realized that I was far from actually losing my faith in God. In other things yes, but not God. I would never want anyone to believe that when I stepped off the treadmill the pain was gone, the grieving was over and my cynical attitudes were completely transformed because it didn’t happen that way. But what began that night was a renewal. A renewal triggered by music.
Some will perhaps argue this with me, and that’s fine but God used Sting to minister to me that night, and many times and through many so-called non-Christians since then. Who am I to question who God uses? How He works? The moment I begin to do that is the moment, it seems I begin to lose my faith.
So can you worship God through so called non-Christian music? (if there is such a thing) Does God work through artists like Sting? What are your thoughts? What are your stories?
October 25, 2007 at 2:04 pm
One night I got a call from one I had been counselling for a while. He was struggling with depression, discouragement and it was made worse by the condemnation he was receiving from his church family. As he poured out his heart over the phone I cried. I was reminded that Christians can be so brutal sometimes.
After hanging up, I flipped on the TV and one of my favorite movies was on and right at one of my favorite scenes. I don’t think I realized until that very moment just why I liked this scene so much. Anyway, in the movie Bend it like Beckham there is a scene in a club and playing in the background is a dance number by MelanieB
Like you there was a renewal that triggered in me at that moment. He is our Sun, our hope!
j.
October 26, 2007 at 9:57 am
[...] and through people who don’t always look and sound like we often think they should. In his post yesterday, Mark shared how God used a song by Sting to trigger a renewel within [...]