We often talk about how Haiti is a “thin place.” This is a concept laid out in the Celtic church. It is a place where heaven is so close to earth that our connection with heaven seems tangible. It’s rare that someone is on a trip and doesn’t hear from God. I love being able to stay in that atmosphere. I have grown in my walk with God, and He has taught me many things. One of the main things God has highlighted for me is worship. Worship is something that has been on my heart for the past couple of months. From the beginning, Coreluv has had a culture of prayer, paired with a culture of worship. Everything we do starts with prayer and worship. From the day we got the land in Myan to the day we started our School of Missions, we have lead with prayer and worship.

 Over the last few months, God has been revealing His heart and desires for my personal worship, as well as His heart for our team’s worship.

I have a desire to establish an atmosphere of genuine and intimate worship within our team. Until a few weeks ago, I was the only one who had any experience on a worship team. While I have lead music with my guitar, I have yet to lead as a vocalist. This made it difficult to cultivate an atmosphere of worship. With the arrival of our new School of Missions students, Brooks and Kelsey, we have gained two amazing singers and worshipers. Our pursuit of the presence of God is not only impacting our Coreluv team but the mission teams serving with us. We are in the beginning stages of constructing our atmosphere of worship, and I am excited for what the future holds.

 “…worship in a place where your spirit recognizes its human inadequacy and approaches God with brutal honesty about who you are.”

One of the verses that God has highlighted for me is John 4:23-24 (MSG). “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

I have probably heard this is a verse a thousand time, but haven’t fully grasped what it means. So what does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? I believe it means to worship in a place where your spirit recognizes its human inadequacy and approaches God with brutal honesty about who you are.

David is a great example of brutal honesty before God. One of the most messed up people in the Bible was referred to as “a man after God’s own heart.” David worshiped and wrote songs from his inadequacy. The psalms are full of songs that reflect the struggles the David faced.

“Be merciful to me, O Lord! My soul is in anguish. I flood my bed with tears. Depart from me, you evildoers! The Lord has heard my cry.” (Psalm 6) This is one of many verses where David laid everything out before God.

I desire to have a heart of worship that is honest before the Lord. I want to boldly approach the King knowing I am unworthy, not in sin, but in awareness of my faults and shortcomings. We give God praise because He is worthy. We lay everything out and say, “This is who I am now. I am a mess, but I desire to worship you.” God will meet us in the middle of our mess, but He refuses to leave us there. We must move forward in our walk with the Lord. We cannot remain stagnant, or else our honesty is meaningless. The thing is, God already knows where we fall short. Our honesty tells Him that we acknowledge our inadequacy and want to move forward. There is breakthrough in our honesty.

So my challenge to you is: Enter into worship aware that you are an imperfect person worshipping a perfect God. Lay everything out and say, “This is where I am. I don’t want to remain here, so take me where You want me to go.” It is this kind of vulnerability that leads to new depths in God.

Honored to Defend the Orphan,
Micah Ennis