When I Stand

My desire with this song is to describe what I experience with worship.

Some may recall that the line "when I'm standing in your light" used to read "when I stand in front of you."  The latter rendering had been deeply impressed upon me subjectively, but I had to abandon it as I acknowledged that I could not convey all that it meant to me within the small lyrical space available.  I wrote the song with the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10) somewhat in mind--a thing, as Rick Joyner has observed in The Final Quest, that has received inadequate attention in the Church's teachings.

This is a fearful subject because we don't understand it, but His judgments are actually our liberation.  The presence of God that we experience in worship has this aspect in it--searching, discerning, unveiling the secrets of our hearts.  It is the environment in which I have most experienced conviction which is often misunderstood as condemnation.  I think the difference is this: condemnation brings shame and leads to depression and other bondages.  It is the argument of the Accuser of the Brethren and says, "you are a wretch, and you will never change." But  conviction brings sorrow along with hope (2 Cor 7:8-11).  It is the reasoning of the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:7-11) and says, "you ought to feel sad because you don't have to be that way; you can change even now."  When responded to in repentance, conviction brings marvelous joy and freedom.  I believe the confusion between the two is the last desperate device of Satan to cause men to avoid the Good News out of fear and ignorance.

Yet this is just one aspect of the experience of worship where we encounter and are enabled to behold One who is infinite in every aspect of His being.  There is too much to say about such an experience, so I opted for the line "when I'm standing in your light" thinking that it more easily lends its meaning to the Christian.

Lyrics:

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updated 15-Aug-2002