Darlene's Extravagant Worship

In her book Extravagant Worship, Darlene Zschech, writer of the song "Shout to the Lord," told of having a miscarriage when she was twelve weeks pregnant with a child they had waited on for a very long time. Three days before she was to leave on a tour with her worship group, she and her husband Mark went to the obstetrician and learned that the baby had just died in her womb.

She was brokenhearted. She and Mark had taken separate cars to the doctor, so she had to drive back to the house by herself. She said she got in her car and didn't know what to do. Then she heard the Holy Spirit whisper, "Sing."

It was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. But again she heard the Holy Spirit say, "Sing."

Darlene wrote, "So after years of learning it is much better to obey quickly, I started to sing. My head didn't sing, and I do not even know if my heart sang, but my soul sang." The first song she heard coming out of her mouth was the hymn "Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, how great thou art...." Even though her thoughts were full of despair, the core of her being, her soul, was singing rather than her intellect. Next she sang a song she had written years earlier called "I Will Bless You, Lord."

By the time she got home something had definitely transpired. She had spoken many times on the power of worshiping through a trial and had done this many times in varying degrees, but never before had she experienced the power of God so sovereignly fulfilling His promise to "heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). The sweet presence of the Savior had placed her on the way to personal healing.

Thank You, Jesus, for accepting our praise, especially when it is a sacrifice.

"Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises" (Psalm 47:6).

Aletha