Worship is an active, spontaneous response to the revelation of God and His character. God is still very much alive today! Our response to the glimpses of His power and might we experience is called worship.
During my time here in La Guajira, I have carefully observed how the Wayuu worship God, their intimacy with Him, and the depths of their spirituality.
One of the things that has surprised me the most is how genuine they are in their worship of God, especially during their times of praise at services. It’s clear that they enjoy singing and rejoicing in the Lord as a community of brothers and sisters in Christ. They don’t worry about keeping tune, clapping on beat, or looking foolish by raising their hands. When they worship there are true, heartfelt smiles on their faces. When they worship there is surrender as hands are raised, hearts are humbled, and those who are still learning give their all to keep up. One can truly see the presence of the Holy Spirit in this place.
It’s common for Wayuu churches to have prayer vigils since it is much cooler at night than during the day. People travel from communities far away and dedicate several hours to worship, to listen to testimonies, to share Gods word, and to encourage each other putting aside their many troubles and worries. They spend several hours in corporate worship with God.
When I see this image of pure, Christ-centered worship, it’s hard for me to not think about how we worship corporately and personally. Today, a lot of our worship is less about Christ and more about us and our needs and demands. Nowadays, we rely on our technology and expertise to make a spectacular performance for our enjoyment and attention. It becomes perfectly normal to believe that worship is something that is enjoyed best in an environment that is perfectly rehearsed, coordinated, and controlled through every moment and every song. But personally, I believe that worship doesn’t look like that. I believe worship has to be led first by the Holy Spirit. Not for what we can orchestrate and perfect. There has to be room for the Holy Spirit to lead us. We don’t need the production or the show. Christ is enough, He alone deserves all the glory and praise. I’m truly grateful that I have been able to experience worship among my Wayuu brothers and sisters.
May God continue to use my time with the Wayuu to bring us closer to Him.
Hebert Rincon
