Worship
Greetings!
“What if you could condition yourself to see every twist and turn in life as a fresh opportunity to worship?” – John MacArthur
This question was posed at the end of my morning devotional, and it got me pondering. However, I must confess, I’m not particularly fond of hypothetical scenarios. “What if” statements often seem pointless to me. It’s like saying, “If I had a million dollars, then I wouldn’t be poor. If I had a million and five, then I’d have a little more.” Such thoughts don’t usually serve much purpose.
But what if…? What if we genuinely loved our Lord to such an extent that we viewed every moment in this life as an opportunity to worship our magnificent God? I am drawn to this “what if” because I long to love our Lord in such a profound manner. Sadly, most of the time… I fall short of that ideal.
Have you ever experienced this? When our Lord graciously presents you with an opportunity to deepen your trust in Him, and instead of embracing it, you find yourself complaining or becoming discouraged? It’s a sad reality of sin and the fallen nature of humanity. Our gracious God blesses us, and yet we often respond with ingratitude or a disposition to whine… or perhaps “wantonly wine”? I’m not entirely certain if I’ve used the word “wantonly” correctly here, but I find the word captivating and was aiming for some delightful alliteration.
It ultimately boils down to the question of trust in God. Do you trust God? How can you discern whether you truly trust Him? Well, I believe the answer lies in how you respond to situations that are beyond your control. It could be something as minor as stubbing your toe, dealing with a screaming child, experiencing job loss, getting into a car accident, or even enduring a lockdown. While not limited to these examples, each situation has the potential to reveal the authenticity of our trust in God.
How did you react in such circumstances? Did this lockdown lead you to look up in awe at the greatness of our God, or did it lead you to question whether your liberties were being violated? This is an important question to consider. If we honestly reflect on ourselves through introspection (2 Corinthians 13:5), we may discover that more often than not, we fall short in the trust department.
What is worship? Where and when do we worship? Do you want to worship? Does it seem hard to worship while not able to attend church? Well here’s the great news! We do not need to go to a religious place or building to worship, but we must go to Jesus. We must meet Jesus at every obstacle. True worship is impossible without Jesus. A.W. Tozer puts it like this:
“The purpose of God in sending his son to die and rise and live and be at the right hand of God the Father was that he might restore to us the missing jewel of worship; that we might come back and learn to do again that which we were created to do in the first place – worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to spend our time in awesome wonder and adoration of God, feeling it and expressing it, and letting it get into our labors, and doing nothing except as an act of worship to almighty God through his son Jesus Christ.”
A.W. Tozer
In his book, “True Worship”, Vaughan Roberts puts it like this,
“…true worship never begins with our own initiative. It is not about human beings trying to win favor from a reluctant God. It is always a response to God’s initiative in sending Jesus to be our savior. It flows out of a grateful heart as we remember what God has done for us: it is ‘in view of God’s mercy’.”
Vaughan Roberts
Even if what he just did for us, was allow us to stub our toe. OUCH!!! He also put it like this,
” …worship is not limited to what happens in church on Sunday. It involves responding to God’s mercy to us in Christ by offering ourselves fully to him in obedient service in all parts of life, wherever we are, every day of the week.”
Vaughan Roberts
In essence, life is a continuous act of worship. Every moment, every second, everything we do should be imbued with the awareness of worshiping God. We should consistently ask ourselves, “Is what I am currently engaged in an act of worship to God?” or “Are my thoughts aligning with worship to God?” If not, then should I cease such activities? (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
The main point I am striving to convey, and I hope to reach it swiftly as this is becoming lengthy, is that all aspects of life, including our reactions in specific situations, constitute worship. This encompasses how we respond to our government amidst this admittedly frustrating period.
“True worship includes our relationship to authorities.” (to quote Vaughn yet again!)
Vaughan Roberts
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Rom. 13:1-7
I earnestly hope and pray that my conduct during this time is a testament to the world, demonstrating that God is a trustworthy and dependable God. Even if it means I cannot gather with my fellow brothers and sisters every Sunday, as painful as that may be. My desire is that when this season comes to an end, I can echo the sentiments of the psalmist:
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1-5
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your
thoughts toward us; none compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
Love you, miss you, praying for you, hoping that you are praying for me,
mike
P.s. My point isn’t to say that we do not need to go to church. Hebrews 10:24-25 is very clear that we should not neglect to come together. We need the fellowship. The point is that worship is not just for church on Sundays, but for all of life. “Saying that you are going to church to worship, should be like saying that you are going to bed to breath.” Even a life in quarantine should be viewed as an opportunity for worship.
A good read, and I highly encourage you to take the time, is “True Worship” by Vaughan Roberts.
