worship. we often hear the word used at church. we're sometimes told that our singing in church is worship. but what makes singing songs an act of worship? after all, anyone can sing a song... what's so special about it?
here's what the Bible says about worship:
"1 Shout with joy to the L
2 Worship the L
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the L
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the L
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation." - psalm 100
what the psalmist describes worship as is not just "liking God a lot" and it's not just "singing nice songs". it's utter servitude to Him in an attempt to be utterly in line with His will and His example through Jesus. to worship God is to, essentially, give everything you are to Him in every way. it's surrendering yourself completely to Him, and loving every minute of it. that's one of the most profound points of worship; the chapter says that worship is not singing to Him "because it's church" or "because i have to". it says to worship Him we must do it with joy and gladness. you can't worship God out of a feeling of "Christian duty" or "tradition" or "because the songs sound nice". that's worthless. the only way that a person can have true joy and gladness in their heart when doing something is because they LOVE doing it. and that's just it! worship needs love, and not just any love, but God's love! the Bible says that
"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but don't have love, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." - 1 corinthians 13
our worship must come from the heart. we can't attempt to make ourselves do it. worship that doesn't come from love isn't worship.
another huge point that the psalm talks about is that true worship is obedience. the verse says we are HIS the sheep of HIS pasture. sheep are meant to be obedient to their shepherd. and that's what the Word describes God as being, in fact, it goes so far as to describe Him as the good shepherd. so in order to truly worship, we must first obey. samuel spoke about this worship to king saul in the old testament:
"22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the L
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams." - 1 samuel 15:22
God wants us to obey Him and to be His. that means that we don't belong to ourselves any more. the Bible says that when we come into a relationship with the Lord, we become willing slaves to Christ. what samuel is getting at is that God doesn't want tradition, he doesn't even want nice things we normally associate with worship, like singing, or tithing our money. none of our material possessions or physical talents are worth anything to Him. what does matter to Him is our hearts. that's what He wants. He could care less about what we do. what He really cares about is the "why" we are doing it. but, at the same time, we encounter a paradox about His nature. even though what we do doesn't matter to Him as long as our hearts are for Him, wanting to obey Him will result from loving Him, and loving Him will result in loving others. when we love Him, and love others, we will find ourselves being compelled by the Holy Spirit to do things, not because He wants us to do His dirty work. He loves us far too much for that. He will only tell us, truthfully, what He knows will draw us closer to Him and draw others closer to Him. our love inspires obedience, which results in our drawing closer to Him, and our drawing closer to Him, because He is Love, makes us love more. worship is a cycle of relationship between a Holy God and His people who love Him. it can only grow stronger the further it goes.
but that means that it is a cycle, one whose source, God, is limitless. that means that it doesn't just stay in church, or in our hearts. it's a lifestyle!
"2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God." -ephesians 5:2
the action of worship, therefore, isn't just what we do at church on sundays, or our prayer, or our good works. it's an entire lifestyle based completely around God. it's an obssession and obedience that covers our deeds, our thoughts, and our hearts.
in our world, we are taught to think for oursleves when we encounter pain. but this is an enormous danger. if you're struggling with persecution, personal sin, or a feeling of emptiness, just worship. when we scream His praises, shine His light, declare to the world how amazing He is, and obey Him, we draw closer to His will and spirit because it is only through the power and love He gives us that we can perform any such action, and we become more attuned to His Spirit, more dependent on His Word, and closer to Him, and therefore, His love. the only thing, after all, that could keep Him from us is ourselves; He cannot draw any closer to us. He's already everywhere and in everything. He's already given us all of Him.
" Here in this great gathering for worship I have discovered this praise-life. And I'll do what I promised right here in front of the God-worshipers. Down-and-outers sit at God's table and eat their fill. Everyone on the hunt for God is here, praising him. "Live it up, from head to toe. Don't ever quit!" -psalm 22:25
" Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. " -psalm 34:9
" Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice. " -psalm 51:16
" I'm ready now to worship, so ready. I thank you, God—you're so good. You got me out of every scrape, and I saw my enemies get it. " -psalm 54:6
God bless you guys and keep worshiping! to Him be the Glory! praying for you!
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