Worthy Is the Lamb - Darlene Zschech

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Psalm 95:2)

You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. (1 Corinthians 14:17)

Thank you. Is that easy to say? We say it all the time, probably many times every day, right? And we might say it in various ways, with money, through a card or an e-mail, by our gift-giving, with food, or even a plaque to honor someone. Sure we mouth the words, but is that enough? When Darlene Zschech wrote “Worthy Is the Lamb”, she must have felt deep appreciation for God, for she thanks Him four times in the first few lines of this song. She says ‘thanks’ with music, a powerful method, no doubt, as it has more capacity to draw emotion out of me than mere spoken words. If I read Paul’s admonition right (see it above), though, there’s more to saying thanks that I need to know, and Darlene Zschech’s life outside of song-writing and performing probably says that better than what I can write here.

I say ‘thanks’ to others for the most simple things, but what about my gratitude toward the Lord? Can it be enough to thank Him for the life that He surrendered, as the song says? Can I possibly muster enough appreciation, and sing with complete and utter emotion and devotion worthy of God’s gift? No, of course not. Nevertheless, Paul tells us that we should sing, and that God wants us to be thankful people (see Ephesians and 1 Thessalonians), so it’s important what happens when I sing “Worthy Is the Lamb”. I edify myself and other worshippers, and I also implant a memorable tune in my consciousness that will remind me of my God and what He means to me. Yet, it’s not impossible, given our multi-cultural surroundings, that there may be someone in the worship who doesn’t understand the words I sing, despite the depth of my sincerity. I recall one Sunday when someone behind me was translating the sermon for a friend, and I think something probably was lost in the communication gap during our corporate ‘thank you’, our songs.



Thankfully, I have other times that I can express my thanks. In fact, to really thank God adequately for his incredible generosity, I need to spend my life doing so. One could probably say that Darlene Zschech has also discovered that the ‘thank yous’ in ‘Worthy Is the Lamb’ just aren’t enough by themselves. No, her life is an extension of what she expresses in the song. Her life includes ministry to the poor…among them is Hope Rwanda that she and her husband Mark founded in 2004 to “mobilize the church and humanitarian organizations world-wide into action” to make a difference in that African country still recovering from the genocide it suffered several years ago. Zschech also takes part in ministries called “Compassionart” and “Compassion” that reach out to the poor. So, when I sing from my heart, when I lift my voice to appreciate God, I need to remind myself that I too can do that every day. With my ‘thanks’, I should see the faces of those I can help, and open my arms, my wallet, and space in my daily-planner and my calendar, and embrace opportunites to share God’s gift. That’s how I enthrone God, I crown Him, and lift Him up for others to see, as the song says.

The above information on the ministries that Darlene Zschech supports and her biography are at: http://www.darlenezschech.com/pages/default.asp?pid=22