In the Bible a woman with an Alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume approached Jesus. She stood behind him at His feet crying. She poured the perfume from the jar on Jesus’ head. She washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
The Pharisees who were present questioned why Jesus would allow this sinful woman to touch Him. His disciples questioned why she would waste expensive perfume that was worth a year’s salary by pouring it on Jesus when they could have sold it and given the money to the pour.
The Pharisees didn’t understand this woman’s worship. Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t understand this woman’s worship. CeCe Winans sings a song paying homage to this woman whom Jesus prophesied would be remembered wherever the Gospel is preached. The words of this song say “you did not feel what I felt when he wrapped His loving arms around me”. What Jesus made this sinful woman, a woman who had been ostracized by society, feel is what prompted her to worship Jesus in such an extravagant way.
I, too, like the disciples didn’t understand why this woman would worship Jesus in this way. I didn’t understand why the apostle John would lay on Jesus bosom. I didn’t understand why David would worship until he was out of clothes. I didn’t understand that reckless abandon. That all consuming feeling. I didn’t understand their worship until today.
I woke up and remembered a song that I had been trying to remember since Sunday when I first heard it. The words did something to me. They were like an electric shock to my system, but held such truth in them. I sang them in my head at first and then I began to whisper them. Then I got up and as I made my way to the bathroom I began to sing those words from my heart and from my soul, and my flesh submitted to those words. The words sung by Kari Jobe are not fancy. They are just true.
I want to sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hand
Lay back against You and breathe
Feel Your heart beat
This love is so deep
It’s more than I can stand
I want to melt in Your peace
It’s overwhelming
I kept singing those words over and over and over again, and I felt the presence of God in my bathroom. He was so real and tangible that I had no choice but to fall prostrate in His presence. No choice but to lay at His feet and as my tears flowed I saw myself as that sinful, ostracized woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. My tears made a little puddle on the ground and I understood her worship. I understood that she was not trying to do anything extravagant or news worthy. It’s just hard to stand in the presence of God.
I kept singing those words that were becoming my truth. I want to sit at Your feet. Drink from the cup in Your hands. Lay back against You and breathe. Feel Your heart beat. Then I stopped and repeated that line. Lay back against You and breathe. I exhaled. Feel Your heart beat. I heard it. God’s heart beat.
God’s heart beat is the very pulse of all of creation. God’s heartbeat is what brought not just planet Earth into existence but everything that is known and unknown to man. The sun rotates to the rhythm of God’s heartbeat. The waves move to rhythm of God’s heart beat. The wind sings to the tune of God’s heart beat. Mountains shake, leaves fall, the rain dances, dogs bark, the moon shines to the beat of God’s heart. John laid against Jesus’ bosom and heard that heart beat. I heard that heart beat. I heard the pulse of creation and the Creator.
The beating of God’s heart that is in rhythm and in sync with all of creation did make me melt in His peace and it was overwhelming. I didn’t want to leave that place of total and complete peace. That place where I was completing in sync with God’s heart beat.
I want to sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hands.
Lay back against you and breathe.
Feel Your heart beat.
This love is so deep.
It’s more than I can stand.
I want to melt in your peace.
It’s overwhelming.
