On Worship, Tired and/or Hungover

Yes, you read that right. I have played church services while hungover. I've played services on mornings where I never went to sleep. I've slept through church services.


Now, before you excommunicate me from the Church, know this: my heart is for the Lord, and He've never failed to humble me when I hit the stage. I'm constantly in awe of His power and majesty and the fact that He uses a screw-up like me.
That said, I want to share a bit of my mindset on mornings like those mentioned above.
I read a tweet from one "Worship_Tips", and it's as such: Remember, what you do tonight will affect how you lead worship tomorrow. Guard your heart. Don't risk loosing the anointing.


Too true.  We should be careful of the condition of our heart when we head in to His Presence. However, to avoid His Presence simply because we're tired or we made a mistake the night before would be foolish. He accepts us, broken as we are, and our willingness to be open about our brokenness and shame is one of the greatest benefits to us and to others that comes from that acceptance. 


Too many mornings I've sat through prayers from tired folk praying that God would wake them up, give them an alertness, blah blah blah. Nothing wrong with that, but I enjoy the mornings where it hurts to lift my head, where I'm too tired to give it my all. And I'll tell you why: Because when everything does work out, when God shows up, when The Spirit descends, I can know fully and completely that it had NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! Not a thing. I gave my all, and it still wasn't enough. God came down because He chose to. He honoured our songs and praises because He chose to. He gives me the strength to worship Him because He chooses to. 


How often in our "strength" and "alertness" and "preparedness" do we fret or worry about everything? Do we, (though we'd never say it out loud) think that everything hinges upon us and our competence?


It's the same way on mornings when there's PA issues, or the sermon isn't complete quite yet, or the guitarist can't quit breaking strings. It's a chance to sit back and reflect upon how messed up we are, how we can do NOTHING good of our own strength, and praise Jesus that He shows up anyways.


Now I'm not saying that we should all stay up all night or come into church tomorrow hungover (or still drunk), but if it comes down to fellowshipping with good intentionality with good folk or unbelievers that need the word, or going to bed at 8:00 so I can be bright-eyed and bushy tailed, I'll always choose the former. Tonight I'm going out to see good folk, to fellowship with people I don't see often enough, and to praise God for excellent music. I won't be out extremely late, but I won't be in before midnight. But I'm not worried, nor do I feel that I'm testing God. My heart and conscience are clear in this matter: God is Lord, and He comes first. And at 8:00 tomorrow morning I'll find myself facedown in His Presence, with no dichotomy between last night and that moment.


Be wise in your dealings, wise in your decisions. Don't sin without regard to God or the future. But don't wrap yourself in a bubble, never going out, never talking to strangers, and never having a good time. Fellowship, food, drinks; all are gifts from God to be celebrated. And all are things to thank Him for on sunday morning, whether you're fully awake or not.