When Worship Became Personal

Sunday Legacy Letters

Turning gratitude into action, one story at a time.

There are moments in life that words never quite reach. You can tell the story, explain what happened, and do your best to describe how it felt. But even then, you know you've only given someone a glimpse.

This is one of those stories.

Worship has become something deeply personal to me. When I worship, I'm responding to a love that still overwhelms me. A love I certainly haven't earned and, even after all these years, don't fully know how to explain.

But I didn't understand all of that when I first became a Christian.

In the beginning, I was learning. Learning to pray. Learning to understand the Bible. Learning what it meant to have a relationship with a God I could not see. I believed He loved me, but there is a difference between believing you are loved and allowing that love to reach the deepest places in your heart.

As I spent time in His Word and sought Him in prayer, my understanding began to grow. I wanted to know Him. And the more I came to know Him, the more naturally worship flowed from my heart.

Then came an evening I will never forget.

I was at home, reading the book of Revelation. As I read the description of God's throne room, I found myself caught up in the majesty of it: the worship, the glory, the overwhelming wonder of being in His presence.

I tried to take in. What would it be like to stand before Him? How could a person possibly find words in a place like that?

Somewhere in the midst of reading and worshiping, those questions became deeply personal.

What happened next is difficult to describe. I can only tell you what I experienced.

I believe God graciously allowed me a glimpse into His throne room.

His presence overwhelmed me, and I fell to the ground in surrender. There was more to take in than I could comprehend. I remember closing my eyes because the magnitude of what I was experiencing was simply too much.

And the sound.

How do you describe something for which you have no earthly comparison? It was as though billions of voices were praising Him together. The sheer fullness of it overwhelmed me. I could not find my own voice. I could hardly catch my breath.

All I could do was sob.

There was awe and reverence, but there was also a joy I had never known so completely. I felt loved. Accepted. There, in the presence of a holy and magnificent God, I was overwhelmed by the tenderness of His love for me.

Even now, that is the part that reaches deepest into my heart.

As a young Christian, I had so much left to learn. My worship wasn't polished. I didn't have impressive words or some great understanding of everything I was reading. What I offered Him was sincere. I loved Him, and I wanted to be near Him.

That evening, I experienced a closeness I have never forgotten.

When I became aware of my living room again, I was exhausted. I felt as though I had run a marathon, although I hadn't gone anywhere anyone else could have measured.

What had seemed like moments had been hours.

I sat with the wonder of it, trying to understand something far greater than my ability to explain. Eventually, I would have to get up and return to the ordinary things of life. But something within me had changed.

Worship had become personal in a way I had never known before.

To this day, when I worship, I remember that love. I remember being so overwhelmed by His presence that words failed me. And I know I don't need to manufacture an eloquent prayer to come before Him.

Sometimes, "Thank You" is all I have.

Sometimes, the tears come before the words.

I share this carefully because I know how personal experiences like this can be. Your relationship with God will have its own story. You may experience His closeness in a quiet moment of prayer, through a passage of Scripture, or in the comfort that helps you make it through a difficult day. You don't need an experience like mine to offer Him your heart.

But I hope you give yourself the opportunity to know Him more deeply.

Looking back over my life, I am profoundly grateful for that evening. I am grateful for what God allowed me to experience, and for the way it changed my understanding of worship. Most of all, I am grateful that His love has continued to meet me through the years, long after the tears of that night had dried.

That is part of the legacy I want to leave my children and grandchildren. I want them to know that my faith was personal. That I sought Him. That I experienced His love. And that loving Him became one of the great joys of my life.

This Sunday, perhaps you can find a little time to be still. Open His Word. Tell Him what is on your heart. You don't have to dress it up. He already knows you.

My prayer is that, as you seek Him, you come to know how deeply you are loved.

Today. Right now.

His arms are open.

Brett Stacy
Founder & National Director, Operation T.A.G.™
National Brand Ambassador, Hometown Hero Credit™
Military Family Advocate | Author | Speaker
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