"But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth keep silent before Him." -- Habakkuk 2:20 NLT
WHEN the mayor handed down EO 57 and 58, prohibiting singing in the worship gathering, I paused and pondered. Normally, my Minister's instinct will react in defiance, because singing in our faith is a vital part of worship. Surprisingly, I felt mysterious peace and as if God whispering to my heart "why not."
Last Sunday, we all worshiped God minus the singing. It was uncomfortable to be honest, yet while we went through the process of prolonged silence and solemn prayer, I think perspective slowly changed. The Presence of God was the focus, not the songs that we sing for God. It was also a time to discover the wonder of silence in worship! The mayor's EO is not against the worship of God and it's against the spread of the virus.
God subtracted the familiar rituals to give way to the neglected part of worship, which is to focus on God. As one author would say, silence is a friend of God. Frankly, how I wish that congregational singing will be restored, I fervently pray that by December as we celebrate the birth of Christ we can sing again in church. I join the sentiments of my fellow ministers requesting for consideration, and hopefully, a dialogue with the policy makers. But for the mean time, considering we are living in these desperate times, I humbly propose why not explore and engage with God as we give more space for silence.
Silence in the context of Habakkuk 2:20 is actually God restoring Holy fear or reverence to our God as we worship Him. In taking away our singing for a while we give way to more bowing down before God than shouting praise. More surrendering of our wills than singing our favorite worship songs. More truth than religious therapy. More obedience to His agenda than demanding immediate rescue. Honestly, I am eager and my heart is filled with holy excitement on worshiping God minus the songs and learn how to sing more from my heart. I am humbled to serve a congregation that displayed maturity of the faith in complying rather than impulsively combating. Perhaps this EO 57 & 58 are one of those mysterious ways of God to purge His church from the impurities of the familiar and meaningless religious clichés. No singing in worship in this COVID CAPTIVITY for a while, I humbly say "why not" if this would take us to mean what we sing and sing what we mean. I'm sure when this EO lifted we shall sing never the same again. Learning to sing from my heart and eagerly awaiting to sing again with God's people from my mouth.