Surprised by Worship

The inspiring benefits of worship with Meredith Andrews

Meredith Andrews, singer, song writer and worship leader, has a full length Spanish album called Ábrenos Los Cielos.  She fell in love with the language, culture and people while on a mission trip to Costa Rica when she was a freshman in high school.  She began taking Spanish at about that time, and it was her favorite class.

After taking six trips to Guatemala while attending Liberty University, and then other trips to El Salvador, Peru and Dominican Republic, Meredith planned to move to Guatemala to work in an orphanage after she graduated from college.  

Instead of majoring in Spanish, Meredith decided to major in Family and Child Development. It had nothing to do with music, which had been a huge part of her life. She’d led worship at her church since she was about twelve years old.  With her other interests, she thought she needed to study something different.

God had other plans for Meredith.  She found herself going from the balmy tropics to the blizzards of Chicago to lead worship.  Although she was passionate about music and worship, there were times when she wished God would send her to Guatemala instead.

Meredith always knew leading worship and writing songs would be a part of her life, but she had her eyes on the Guatemalan orphanage.  Then one Wednesday night, she vividly remembered singing “Sing to the King,” while leading worship for her college campus service.  That was when God made it clear to her that leading worship is what He called her to do.

She loves worshipping and leading people in worship.  Even though it may look different from one person to the next, Meredith is blessed to see people change in His presence.  She considers it a privilege.  

“It’s not so much about the music.  It’s the vehicle and I get to facilitate,” Meredith explained.  “It’s really just singing these truths over ourselves and back to the Lord and recognizing He comes to meet us right where we are.

“Worship is ascribing worth to God.  It starts with the posture of my heart.”

“What do I hope to gain?  What do I hope to give?  What do I hope to experience?  Or do I have no expectations at all?”  

Meredith believes God wants you to enter into worship with expectations.  You should expect God to move in your heart, even if it’s to shift your focus off your circumstances. 

You may not feel like being there when you initially walk into worship, but you do it because God is worthy and He deserves it.  Somehow, in His kindness you receive the benefit. Enter into worship with the expectation that God will do great things.  

“It’s this beautiful exchange that happens,” Meredith said. “I’m bringing my offering, but He lavishes his love on me and reminds me of who He says I am. He reminds me that His presence is with me every moment of every day, not just in the four walls of a church building.

“It’s a perspective shift.  When I worship, I get my eyes off my circumstances and look at Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.  I walk out without the weight of the world on my shoulders.”  

When you walk out of worship with something in your life that is still really hard and heavy, you know you can bring it to God, knowing He will carry and hold you.

Psalm 59:16-17 says, “I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.  For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”

Worship in any language is the key to unlocking faith and peace that trusts God no matter what is happening in your life.

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