I have attended Providence General Baptist for almost 18 years now. My sisters and I joined the praise team not long after we started going there. We came from a small country church which I still love to this day. I grew up singing about “The Old Rugged Cross”, and how “The King is Coming”. Those songs still speak to my heart. In fact, we still incorporate those songs into each service.

But now, 18 years later and co-leading the praise band with one of my sisters, we have evolved and added contemporary praise music to our Sunday morning worship sets. I am a strong believer that we can change the method of delivery in terms of music (following respectable and biblically sound reasoning), but we cannot change the message. The message we believe is still about that merciful, loving Father who died on the cross to save us from our sins and rose again and continues to extend to us far more grace than we could every deserve. So how could it ever be difficult to praise a Heavenly Father who is so deserving?

My answer to that would be busyness. 

Google defines busyness as the state or condition of having a great deal to do.

In my case, it should say: “The state or condition you accidentally get yourself in by committing to too many things, even if out of the goodness of your heart; see also self-inflicted.”

I would love to tell you that I have learned to set my eyes on Jesus every second of every day, distraction free, and have weeded out the unnecessary of life. Yet here I am, at 10:54 pm on a Friday night, finishing putting my thoughts on paper. But I justify it in that my day was filled with good and wholesome things. I worked at my job where I do outreach in school, then I coached our high-school volleyball team where my oldest daughter plays as a senior, then I co-led praise band practice at church with my sister, pastor, and friends. Those are all good things, right?

So why do I feel guilty that I allowed busyness to rob my day of blessings? Because I wasn’t intentional about finding joy in every moment of the busy. If we are not careful, we can let even the “good-busy” distract us from our true purpose. 

Leading worship at a church is no small task. Our number one focus is to please God by allowing Him to work through us as we praise His name together and help usher in his presence. I admit, I must be careful not to let pleasing people become a priority as well. It is easy to be worried about messing up or who likes the songs. I’ve found myself picking songs based off how happy the congregation looked the last time we sang it.

While we do need to take their worship into consideration, I just remember that the goal is not just to help them have an experience. A worship experience feels good, but it is temporary. They leave and the emotional high fades away. It is simply an event. The goal is to help lead others into praising that will cause them to long for a relationship where worship is ongoing.

To do this, I must remember that this is not about me. It never has been, and it never will be. Leading worship is about glorifying Him above all.  I must trust that if I am doing His will and striving to follow His lead, that He will take care of the rest. When you allow yourself to come to a place where you play or sing as if it is only you and Jesus in the room you find a much deeper level of intimacy with Jesus Christ.

This has truly changed my life and my relationship with God. I still must find time for studying God’s word. Worship is wonderful, but we still need that biblical knowledge. We must stay fed and fill our cup in order to pour into others. 

Remember, the enemy is not going to leave you alone when you are trying to serve God. He attacks us so often on Sunday mornings that sometimes I must laugh to keep from crying. From the computer glitching to the piano player coming down with a cold and having to fill-in, you name it, it happens. Those are all very small things, yes, but when you’re trying to lead a congregation into serious worship of a Holy God, those small things are big interruptions.

Please hear me- do not let distractions steal purpose. 

As a wife and mom, I strive to be very careful not to become so distracted by life that I lose sight of Him. I know I talk a lot about being intentional, but that is what I am having to focus on. Serving with a joyful heart and not becoming overwhelmed by the weight of “have to”. If you allow serving the Lord to feel like a job you have to do, you allow the enemy to suck the joy out of it.

I want my children to grow up seeing mom and dad serve joyfully, even in the hard times. I am sure I fail daily, but I strive for them to see that setting your eyes on Jesus above all else truly does bring a peace that passes any earthly understanding. My husband and I intend to show our children that parents should have a mutual love and respect where the woman loves and serves her husband to biblical standards while the husband loves the wife as God loves the church. This takes a lot of forgiveness, grace, and being intentional in all we say and do. Doing these things honors God which is what we should all be reaching for. God Bless. 

About the Author: Rachel Gooch is a wife and mother of three girls who attend Providence General Baptist Church in Providence, Kentucky. She serves as a worship leader and co-leader of the junior high youth group, along with her wonderful husband. She has a degree in Elementary Education, grades K-5 and a degree in Special Education, grades K-12. She is also a Family Resource Coordinator in two elementary schools in her local school district while she pursues her masters as a Literacy Specialist.