of saskatchewan and thirty hour bus rides...

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord"

-Ephesians 5:19

Call me fickle, but lately I have found power in the song. As I sat on a thirty hour bus ride away from gorgeous and warm B.C. to the forsaken land of Saskatchewan, I came across such a song. But to understand this scenario better I must provide some contextual information.

Not this weekend, but the one before that, I boarded a bus with nine other Kaleo's heading for Christian Mecca, Caronport (Saskatchewan). Personally I wish we would have borrowed a page from Islam and picked somewhere a little warmer - like Saudi Arabia - but alas we were off.

One ferry ride, five games of catchphrase, thirteen hours of sleep, and one sleezy motel later - we arrived.

You know those times in life when you hear a lot about a place and when you arrive you remark, "Wow, this is nothing like what I expected!" This was not one of those times. Briercrest is in the middle of nowhere. It is very cold. And the people there are amazing. I was reunited with my long lost siblings, won a basketball tournament against people I could babysit (proud of that one), and played pond hockey on a cold Saskatchewan night in the glow of a roaring fire. Life is hard.

I can remember during one of the worship services for YouthQuake (my official reason for being there) we were singing the Christian classic, "How Great Is Our God". And I can remember looking around while the chorus was being sung, people proclaiming the amazing power of God, and I thought to myself, "I wonder what would happened if they actually believed that?"

Now God has really impressed humility on my heart this year, so I should not be surprised at the response that came back to me.

"What If you really believed it Jake?"

This is a quote from A.W. Tozer, "Christians don't tell lies they just go to church and sing them."

I began to realize two things. One - My words need to be in sync with my deeds. I should approach prayer with the same faith that I sing, "Savior, He can move the mountains..." with. Two - that God is working in tremendous ways through music.

I realize that last point does not sound like a profound insight - but to an analyzer like myself, someone who needs a theological dissertation to praise God - this is huge. And my guess is many of you who are reading this blog can relate. You who want to get the fluffy songs out of the way in a service so the "real teaching" can begin.

And the truth is, from a Biblical perspective, this argument does not stand. David found an outlet in the Psalms, Jesus - on the night of his arrest - sung a hymn with his disciples (Matt. 26:30), and Paul commands us in his letter to the church in Ephesus to sing spiritual songs.

I have a feeling that music is more than notes on a page. That, in the same way as prayer, it is a divine way of entering into fellowship with the God of the Universe.

So back to the bus ride...

As I sat with headphones in, driving into the Alberta horizon, a song comprised purely of instrumental goodness, resonated between my ears. And it was in that moment that I felt equipped to love more. Despite my exhaustion, frustration, and general annoyance - God replaced my selfishness with love. Not through a three point theological sermon, but through carefully strung together notes.

I should stop putting God in my understanding box. Because lately He is refusing to stay inside it.