OUR MATCHLESS, UNDEFEATED GOD
Before becoming a pastor, I served in ministry as a worship leader. One of the things I loved most about this time in ministry was the opportunity to bring theology to life in a way that many people may never be exposed to otherwise. But I often ran into a challenge — do the people singing these words even know what they mean?
For example, back when I was leading worship on a weekly basis and popping a WOW Worship CD in the boombox to hear the most popular worship songs of the day, there was one such song with the lyrics, “The train of his robe fills the temple.” These words have been included in several other worship songs since — and probably before then too.
Week after week I would see worshippers reading these words off a screen and singing them with all their heart when one day a man challenged me on this. “What does it even mean that God has a train on his robe? And why is it filling up a temple? Is he wearing…like…a wedding dress?”
I laughed. And then I wanted to cry and hide. Because honestly, I had no idea the answer to his question! Finding that answer would be a journey that made a profound impact on my life.
This is, of course, not just a lyric, but it comes from Isaiah 6:1 where the prophet describes a vision of God that he had at the beginning of his ministry.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).
Digging into this imagery, what I discovered is that it comes from a practice of ancient earthly kings who wore royal robes with long, flowing trains to display their power. The reason the long train indicated power is because when a king defeated another king in battle, he would often have part of the train from the defeated king’s robe sewn into his own. Therefore, the longer the train, the more victories had been won.
Suddenly, this lyric and this truth held much greater power! When I sing about God seated on the throne and his train filling the temple, I’m singing about my victorious God who is unmatched and undefeated!
But that’s not all.
Isaiah goes on to describe the angels singing about God’s holiness, a holiness so unmatched that Isaiah has to have his lips cleaned before speaking to the Lord. And when he does, Isaiah then volunteers to take the Lord’s message to Judah — God’s people.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).
And there I was ruined. Isaiah’s calling — dare I say his entire commissioning or ordination into the ministry — was based not one bit on his gifts or talents, but entirely on the holiness and power of his God.
What, then, do I believe about my own calling? Is it because I am so great and talented?
No! Of course not. Even typing those words feels ridiculous.
Calling and ministry are rooted in the reality that the God who sends and the Lord for whom we minister is seated on the throne. He is unmatched in power. He is undefeated in all arenas of battle. He calls those whom he chooses, and he sends those who are willing to fully submit to his plan.
So now, when I see those words, I am reminded of how great our God is. I am reminded of where my calling and my ministry are rooted.
And I am reminded that it’s ok to admit we don’t know what a lyric to a song means!
So today I challenge you to consider where your calling and your ministry are rooted. May we be like Isaiah and recognize the holiness and power of the God who sends us while being reminded that he is unmatched and undefeated. The battle truly belongs to the Lord!
(And one more thing. Maybe we should pause before our churches sing about robes with trains, honey in the rock, sloppy wet kisses, in excelsis deo, letting angels prostrate fall, and a host of other lyrics to ensure that we truly know what it means, it is in fact proper theology, and that we teach it as we sing it!)
