Lookahead: And, in fact, the byline read, “Carine Bassili shares how God used her viral worship song to break barriers and release healing between Arabs and Jews.”1 She believed that the LORD had instructed her to write a song about the God of Israel. The result was a beautiful Hebrew/Arabic song that came from Psalm 105. At the time I heard it, I was believing that the song represented sincere adulation of God, although I couldn’t understand most of it. So I hummed along and tried to sing it to God as a worship song. Later on, I discovered that it was actually a song about God’s desire for a unified Israel. So in my view, it did not qualify as a worship song. It was instead a wonderful “message song.”
Brief Recap: In covering worshippers in the Old Testament and New Testament, we have additionally touched on Jesus’ worship style, and reinforced the observation that Jesus did not solicit worship–
although there were rare examples of people spontaneously worshipping Him like the man born blind (John 9:38) and the apostles after Jesus walked on water (Matt 14:33).
I was next going to jump into the Gold Standard Worship of Jesus as defined and exemplified in the Book of Revelation (including not only heaven, but the 1000 year millennial reign). However, I first want to touch on modern day worship. And I wanted to start off by continuing to explain…
What Worship is not: According to my personal tastes, it is not singing Fanny Crosby hymns acapella, in a setting with faint mildew smells wafting through the air, while I’m trying not to let the people sitting next to me know that I’ve never heard the lyrics or the melodies before.
Nevertheless, I have found that I am well able to worship in this space–if I can focus my mind and heart on the matchless Glory of God. Unfortunately I have also found over the years that “distraction cometh.”
Recently I listened to an amazing song collaboration by an Israeli IDF soldier and a Lebanese woman on YouTube. It was referred to as a worship song. And, in fact, the byline read, “Carine Bassili shares how God used her viral worship song to break barriers and release healing between Arabs and Jews.”1 She believed that the LORD had instructed her to write a song about the God of Israel. The result was a beautiful Hebrew/Arabic song that came from Psalm 105.
At the time I heard it, I was believing that the song represented sincere adulation of God, although I couldn’t understand most of it. So I hummed along and tried to sing it to God as a worship song.
Later on, I discovered that it was actually a song about God’s desire for a unified Israel. So in my view, it did not qualify as a worship song. It was instead a wonderful “message song.” Eventually things devolved to the extent that when I next played the song, I found myself technically critiquing the writer and the other artists’ performances (favorably of course). I also went into analytical mode, trying to understand why God hadn’t been too specific with his instructions for the song, e.g., “I want you to write a song about the God of the Universe?” or “I want you to write a song about the God of Jacob and Esau?” or “I want you to write a song that makes a powerful political statement on My behalf?”
If I had heard the song without all the hoopla, I would have continued to worship to it believing that it was an anointed song that had set my personal stage for worship. But the marketing of the song eventually interfered with my worship. Hence, “distraction cometh.”
In another example, the lead-in reads:
“The Truth by Megan Woods is a song of worship grounded in the truth of who we are in Christ, our Savior.”2
Then the song lyrics start out by talking about how the devil is whispering to her and it’s shaking her faith. She next asks for God’s help.
Again, it’s a beautiful song with an incredible message of Hope and an invitation to Kingdom Life. But will it set the stage for true worship? Maybe on a situation specific basis?
Personally speaking, references to the devil or the enemy seem out-of-place in a song that is supposed to steer my focus to the matchless Glory of God. So in my particular situation, this was another case of “distraction cometh.” Is this the case universally for every listener? I’m sure the answer is no, and I also believe that drawing conclusions isn’t a good use of my time.
However, this drives home the point that ultimately worship is a private experience between me and God. When I begin to understand Who He is, my heart is transformed and I can’t help but worship Him. The more I understand, the more any distractions are drowned out.
In the early 2000’s when I was living in Texas, I felt strongly that the LORD wanted me to attend a Hispanic Conference in Grand Prairie, TX in which a very well-known South American pastor would speak. There would also be some famous musical artists performing. With eager anticipation, I registered for the conference. Subsequently I was really deflated to discover, upon arriving, that I might be the only “gringo” there 🙂 ; and that there appeared to be no bi-lingual provisions–no subtitles or interpreters. Plus I had a very limited Spanish vocabulary. On top of that, I and the rest of the Christian world were witnessing a major transition from praise teams/choirs to rock bands with soloists, heavy percussion, and riff-happy lead guitarists. I was dug in that this was rock ‘n roll, not worship music.
I said to the LORD, “What am I doing here? This is a mess. I came here to worship You but it’s a rock band format. How can I possibly worship with this band? I won’t even be able to sing – I can’t speak Spanish. Should I forget about it and go home? But I had the sense that it was going to be OK; I had not missed God’s will on it, i.e., I was in the right place.
Over the next two days, I had the most amazing church experience of my life. It turned out that they did have subtitles/interpreters for a lot of the speakers, and the Holy Spirit helped me to sing the Spanish. I’ve never experienced such glorious worship. The fact that I had come there with a strong desire to worship the LORD gave me an “I-will-not-be-denied attitude.” So I intentionally attempted to forget everything else and focus on God. Eventually His Glory drowned out the distractions.
As I mentioned in the Christmas 2025 post, worship leaders are meant to…
help create an environment that engenders worshipful hearts. This is accomplished by minimizing anything that would distract from the pure and undistilled Glory of God, i.e., anything that would, knowingly or unknowingly, seek to elevate man. And this, of course, derives from having a worshipful heart themselves, in the purest sense.
Our worship leader was so much like Martha’s sister, Mary, who had “chosen the better part!” He was so busy worshipping on his own, that he could have cared less what we were doing. This was the first time I ever saw a worship leader fall to his knees in the middle of a song. I saw powerful worshipful lyrics on the big screen monitors. I saw 1000% engagement by the conference attendees. I saw little children smiling at me as I dove into the corporate worship. Then I saw them running to the altar!! It was incredible and amazing.
The LORD taught me a very important lesson that time–that He is always faithful to commune with us, if we make our worship “all about Him.”
In the next post, I’ll talk about how, in modern times, the devil tries to steal our worship–starting with the Kim Yong Un bar height (North Korean dictator whose citizens worship his portrait on the wall. :-)). And I will talk about how I almost lost my worship to legalism–on my way to getting to a place where nothing distracts (including someone handing me a baby when I’m deeply immersed).
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1This Song She Got From HEAVEN… Got Her BANNED [Carine Bassili]
Cross-Denominational Bible Study 