Unquenchable Worship

In Matt Redman's book "The Unquenchable Worshipper", he shares a poem that he wrote when he was 15 years old. Let's take a look at that poem and compare it to a song he wrote years later called "The Father's Song."

The Poem:
"Due to circumstances and conditions of my heart
I've been starved of the love of a Father in the past,
And it doesn't seem to matter, but inside there's still a thirst
That says, 'I want my Daddy,' like a hurting five-year-old.
Due to matters arising and control of situations
I have run from the love of a Father in the past.
And to me it's not so pure, and I find that I'm not sure
If I want that love to seek me and to reach me anyway.
And it doesn't seem to matter, but inside there's still a thirst
That says 'I want my Daddy,' like a hurting five-year-old."

How many people run from the love of our Heavenly Father because they have never experienced genuine love from an earthly father. In "The Shack", Mack asks Papa why there is such an emphasis on God being a Father in scripture. The reply, "Let me say for now that we knew once the Creation was broken, true fathering would be much more lacking than mothering. Don’t misunderstand me, both are needed—but an emphasis on fathering is necessary because of the enormity of its absence." (94)

Years later, the voice of a hurting 15 year old has been replaced by someone who is able to sing "The Father's Song."

"I have heard so many songs,
Listened to a thousand tongues,
But there is one that sounds above them all;
The Father's song, the Father's love -
You sung it over me, and for eternity
It's written on my heart.
Heaven's perfect melody,

"The Creator's symphony,
You are singing over me
The Father's song.
Heaven's perfect mystery -
The King of Love has sent for me,
And now You're singing over me
The Father's song."

The Father's song was based on Zephaniah 3:17 which speaks of the song that God sings over His people.

WOW! Here's what Redman has to say when he compares the two sets of lyrics back-to-back: "...I am shocked. I realize just how far God has brought me along the path of healing. It's easy to forget the pain I had carried around after my largely fatherless upbringing. The voices of hurt that used to echo so loudly around my head have been drowned out by a different sound - the Father's song. When I compare these two watermarks, I'm humbled by God's hand of kindness in my life.
That's not so say I'm a totally whole person now. Far from it. I'm an unfinished heart. Now and again I feel twinges of pain from the past. I may never be free of them this side of heaven. I remain an unsatisfied worshipper, limping toward wholeness yet full of hope and gratitude."

If you are one of those who is limping through life, THERE IS HOPE! Know that God has loved you with an everlasting love. He longs to be your true Father. Scripture declares that He is a father to the fatherless. Through the sacrifice of Jesus - we can know the Father's love for us.

Excerpts from "The Unquenchable Worshipper" by Matt Redman appear on pages 108-111.