Endurance and PromisesIhe Atụ

I will help you endure with worship

Worship is the place where we will meet God. Through worship, we can lay our burdens down, give them to God and we can experience a relief from our pain. It’s a time when we can focus outwards and put our own worries aside. It can be hard to worship when we don’t feel like it and our circumstances don’t lead us to worship, but David shows us it is possible. Remember worship isn’t about you and your situation, it’s about honouring the King of Kings who can transform the world around you. If you choose to worship, it will change your life! 

When we worship it gives God an opportunity to speak to us and give us direction. On one occasion in my life, I was switched off from my world, in worship, overcome with awe for God and I heard the words ‘you’ve got the power’. I couldn’t get this out of my head. It was like I’d been given some kind of authority and anointing. This led me to ask some questions like ‘what do you want me to do with this power?’ The conversation with God went on for a few days. I heard ‘harness the power’; I thought to myself, how can I harness God’s immense power? Then I heard ‘the power is love’, which led me in a conversation with a woman who was in a desperate place and she was able to experience the power of God’s love. It was a beautiful scene.

Worship affects us physically too. When we use our voice, we are able to express our emotions and our stress levels drop. God uses the yearning of our hearts to transform our perspective. He exchanges ashes for beauty and gives us praise instead of despair. Worship makes us feel lighter.

David wrote Psalm 34 when he found himself in enemy territory and he was on the run from Saul who wanted to kill him. He must have felt he was between a rock and a hard place. It’s a tough place to be isn’t it? His solution was to pretend he was crazy, as the culture of that day was that crazy people were not killed, so he saved himself from certain death. David had to run from Saul for several years before he was free. He needed to find the strength to endure the turmoil of this. He wrote many songs in his quest to navigate life. Some were songs of lament and some were songs of praise and some just asked questions. In her early days of pregnancy with Jesus, Mary met with Elizabeth and said, ‘Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!’ (Luke 1:46–47 NLT). Mary must have been through great turmoil as she adjusted to the news that changed her life forever, but she knew praise was the response that was going to get her through. 

Worship is a way of life, as well as creating a moment for you and God. It’s about honouring him with your whole life, watching what you say and how you behave towards others. Worship is a declaration of love and commitment to God. Are you ready to do this?

Prayer: Father God, you are incredible! Thank you that you love me so much and have given me the ability to worship you. Thank you for the relief of being in your presence when everything around me brings pressure. Thank you that you want to talk with me and lead me in the best life I could have. Please help me when I struggle to put you first in my life. Amen.