By: Steven Potts, Worship Pastor
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“On a mission to bring glory to the One who rescued me.  I will not allow distractions, I will not allow defeat.”  These are the opening lines of a song that God wrote on my heart for me to share corporately, first, with my Integrity family. 

I pray that this song, which began as my own prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, will reach out to the hearts and lips of multitudes of worshipers around the earth.  “Wholehearted” is not just a song to me; it is an anthem of my life.  I pray that whenever I leave this world, that the words of this song would find themselves true of my life.  I hope that followers of Christ and unbelievers alike will all be able to say that without a doubt, Steven Potts was a wholehearted worshipper of Jesus Christ.  He lived his life as a sacrifice of praise and offered the totality of himself by loving God and loving others.  He did not bring his leftovers to the table.  He died striving to honor God in the things he said, the things he did, and the songs he sang.      

It is impossible to avoid distractions in our lives.  Circumstances, relationships, material possessions constantly scream for our attention.  Satan is at war for each of our souls.  The Word says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”  We have a choice; either to allow the distractions to defeat us or to use them as opportunities to glorify God.  If we allow distractions in our lives that take away from our worship of the King we allow defeat and we give Satan authority over ourselves.  But when we run to the arms of Christ, we find shelter, rest, and divine peace.  “He prepares a feast in the presence of my enemies.”  (Psalm 23:5). 

My mother was a great example of an unstoppable worshipper.  In 1990, she and my father separated, leaving her at home with 3 boys and no job.  She had chosen to be a follower of Christ just a few months before.  She could have chosen to retaliate, feel sorry for herself, or just give up.  Instead, she counted the cost of following Christ, denied self, and put her faith into practice.  I remember countless nights when she would call my brothers and I to her bedroom to pray.  Not only that, she would open her mouth singing the praises of God right in the midst of her heartache!  These were bitter sweet times for her, I’m sure.  But my brothers and I learned how to pray and to praise from a position of faith.  We would pray for things that we desperately needed, and sure enough, one by one, those things were provided by the very hand of God.  When you relentlessly place yourself at the feet of the King, admitting your dependence on Him, He will lift your head giving you dignity in His presence.  When you choose to be unstoppable in worship, your needs will be met, and you will be rewarded with God pouring out His blessings all over you.  

It is imperative that we put on all of God’s armor daily so that we can stand firm against all things that distract and pull us away from worshipping the One who is worthy to be praised; Jesus Christ.  Satan, with all of his thousands and thousands of years of practice, will use any thing or person in his power to pull you down.  An unstoppable worshiper ignores him and keeps right on giving himself over to God.  He never ceases to praise Him.  He is persistent over his time, money, affection, devotion, etc. because he knows that his allegiance is reserved for God alone.