“Join me in raising your hands as we worship the Lord.”
My eyes darted from one corner of the room to another and then back to my own table. Wondering if I was the only one feeling an increased heartbeat and slight shortness of breath, I nervously freed my hands from my pockets. Is everyone really going to raise their hands?
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Every time I’m in a worship service and the song leader suggests we raise our hands in praise (or surrender or acceptance or whatever the virtue of the day may be), I cringe. I get a little sweaty and my mind starts racing.
What is wrong with you? Why can’t you raise your hands?
I know. I should raise my hands. I want to. I do. But…
What if I look weird? What if they notice?
It’s just not like me. I’m not a raise-your-hands kind of girl.
You mean you’re not a praise-the-Lord kind of girl?
Just. Raise. Your. Hands.
Ahhh! It’s not a big deal, but it feels like a big deal!
Isn’t it enough to tap my foot?
Is this song ever going to – oh, good, it’s over now.
Every time.
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Though we listen to a lot of children’s music and Christian music and even country music, Annalyn and I both love pop music. Like, a lot. And as I wrote this month’s post for (in)courage, I realized how many of those catchy songs include lyrics about raising your hands (or the roof) and putting your hands up (or in the air).
The interesting thing is that I never hesitate to raise the roof (of my car) when we’re jamming to a pop song, but put me in a dark auditorium worshiping the Lord, and my hands are glued to my side.
I don’t know that God necessarily favors one style of worship over another. Honestly, I believe He made each of us unique – and that includes the way we worship Him. But I’ve personally struggled with the desire to raise my hands during worship but being afraid of looking silly.
my husband, a worship leader, and i, just had this convo. what holds people back? why are they scared? thanks for being so honest…and for shedding some light. and bless that little 5 year old heart. so pure. so in touch. oh to be like a child!
xoxo
lisa
Glad to help! ;)
Have you seen the Tim Hawkins stand up on worship? it’s hilarious and very true to life
(at least for me). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK2_ezOBa2A
Ooooh, my dumb computer has a virus and won’t play videos right now. Tagging this to come back to once I get my computer cleaned up!
I’m Catholic. And, as a whole, we do NOT raise our hands. ;) I take no issue with it, but it’s not what I’m used to and so, when in a mixed-Christian group, I sometimes feel weird.
So interesting to hear your perspective, JL. Thank you!
Like anything in worship, what’s important is your HEART. Raising your hands (or anything that one might “do”) in worship is empty unless it comes from the outpouring of your own heart toward God. This became very clear to me when I observed one of our church’s foreign exchange students a few years back. I realized she was merely learning the culture (she had not yet become a Christian). Rather than the physical gesture coming from her heart, it came from mimicking what she had seen the other young people around her doing…I think this can be very true for any of us. That’s my opinion. If it’s an honoring part of a private “conversation” between you and your Creator, go for it. If it’s merely to fit in or because someone tells you it’s “better worship” I don’t feel like those are the right reasons.
Good, honest post :) (Just FYI – I am an incredibly infrequent hand-raiser. If it makes me feel SELF-conscious, I realize I’m not focused on Him!)
I’m with you, Lisa. I feel like it just makes me more self-conscious! Not thinking so much about God then. Of course, I’m also self-conscious when the pastor keeps talking about raising our hands and I don’t want to. So either way, I’m self-conscious. (*Sigh.*) I understand why he wants us to do it and I understand wanting us to get out of our comfort zones, but for me, I don’t think that’s the way to persuade me. It’s just drawing more attention to ME!!
Convicting post though, Mary. Glad you’re back! But keep it fluffier with your next post, will ya? ;)
Thanks – glad to be back!
Such an interesting observation about the exchange student in your church! And a great reminder for all of us, to be led by the Spirit and not just to mimic what we see around us. Thank you for sharing, Lisa!
Worshiping can be very personal for some people, and it can make them feel vulnerable to raise their hands and let go. I seem to be getting less insecure as I get older, but I’m still not the type who’ll wave my hands around and dance in the aisles. And that’s OK. :)
Exactly – about being vulnerable and about being okay either way! :)
Thanks for sharing this friend!! I personally wasn’t so sure about it either. I was raised strictly Baptist where you hardly smiled during singing old hymns. So when we got married and started attending a mega-church where the worship was more freeing and people were raising their hands… I started wondering, thinking, and asking myself those same questions. It took me a few years, but I began to pray about it and ask the Holy Spirit to show me whether or not this was a form of worship that was right for me. Being the bubbly person that I am and that generally speaking I don’t care what other people think… I also kinda do.
So I started thinking it over more and more, but it really didn’t take too long (just a few years after starting to attend this church) after starting to pray about it that I found myself raising my hands during worship. Granted it helped for that first attempt that we were toward the back, and that while hubby doesn’t raise his hands and has no desire to do so even when they encourage us to (just a non-issue, isn’t his thing), he doesn’t mind at all that I do and wants me to follow the Spirit’s leading. Now I raise my hands in worship consistently… when I feel lead to, when the Spirit moves me, and when the singing and timing is right. I don’t do it in any way to distract others from worship or to draw attention to myself. I’m in a room full of people raising their hands so trust me, when it’s like that, you aren’t silly and after trying it a few times, you may find that it’s the most fitting or least fitting thing for you. But if others in the congregation are doing it, then don’t fret about looking silly. You’ll just blend in. ;) Ultimately the most important thing in worship is your heart and that you are truly lifting up glory to God. Pray about it and see what God would have you do. Maybe this isn’t right for you, but I don’t think you should feel odd about it. This isn’t a simple yes or no thing for everyone. I’ll tell you though, one thing that helped me is closing my eyes and fully focusing on the Lord (glancing every once in a while at the screen if I forget the words). Because honestly sometimes I do feel weird if I’m doing it with my eyes open. Strange but true… it feels more real to me with my eyes closed. Especially if I realize I forgot to put on my deodorant that morning. Can’t see the person next to me grimacing.
Haha!
For me… years down the road, I struggle worshiping where people don’t have the freedom to worship in whatever way the Spirit leads. I respect them and wouldn’t want to be a distraction, and I do believe there are ways of worshiping that are too distracting and not necessarily pleasing to the Lord (that seek to draw more attention to self… like when there’s a solo and someone stands up in the middle of church and raises their arms… I struggle there feeling like that looks to be too attention-grabbing, self-serving in that moment). But I do struggle being at those places because it’s different now than what I’m used to. How ironic. I do love the freedom of worshiping Spirit-led but I know it makes some people uncomfortable.
I believe Christ is most exalted when we don’t worry about it. When we do feel the natural freedom to express our worship in what ways work best for us. He should be honored and glorified in our worship, and we should not be concerned with how we look, feel, are dressed, how flabby we feel our arms might be waving high up in the air, or whether or not the person next to us thinks we’re crazy. I think we should be respectful of others while also most honoring God in how he leads us to.
Just my two cents, but hope this helps. :) I don’t blame you for being concerned about it! Pray about it and see what happens. — Now I suppose I should have read your (in)courage post before rambling on like this… going to read it now. :)
You are awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us! So glad you put in your two cents – it’s fascinating (and encouraging) to learn about others’ journeys!
Thanks for this lovely post, I thought I was alone. For me, everyone (EVERY SINGLE ONE) in the congregation lifted their hands except for me. You can imagine just how awful I felt. I just don’t feel right doing it but I didn’t want to do it for the sake of fitting in – believe me I was the only one.