What Does It Mean To Worship?预览

We worship through music.

Worship: Where God isn’t moved by the quality of our voice but by the condition of our hearts. —Chris Tomlin

We’ve mentioned that worship is less about an activity and more about a heart posture that holds God in the highest esteem. The place where God is at the top of someone’s priority list. 

Typically, we spend most of our time worshiping God through music. And understandably so. We can listen to it in the car, at the gym, and at home. Clearly, music is a popular avenue to worship our Creator. 

Worship is a divine appointment with our God. It is both an extravagant expression and a reserved stillness. It is singing, and it is silence. It’s being still and knowing He is God, and it’s celebrating with banners and dancing. It doesn’t matter what type of song we sing. Whether it’s from the most popular group in the worship music scene or a hymn written in the 1700s, the style is not what’s important — the condition of our heart is.

When we attend a weekly worship service, we might raise our hands up as far as they’ll reach. Or we may worship in a quiet manner, with eyes closed. Regardless of whether we’re physically dynamic or reservedly humble, our plethora of or lack of external countenance doesn’t give us the right to assume anything about anyone else. A lack of actions doesn’t signify an internal void, just as an abundance of them doesn’t mean we are über-spiritual. If our actions are only outward, that’s not worship. That’s a demonstration. 

To worship is less about displaying an observable expression and more about possessing an inward disposition. A disposition that releases tightly clenched fists, in order to open them up to a God who wants to fill them with His incomprehensible peace and love. So, whether we lift our hands or fall on our faces, our worship should emerge from a heart postured to give God praise. 

But worship isn’t for us. If we wonder what we’re getting out of it, then we’ve missed the whole point. Do we receive benefits from worshiping God? Sure. We may be experiencing a time of peace or swirling in a whirlwind of devastation. And when we worship, an unexplainable comfort and hope is ushered into our spirits. This unexplainable comfort occurs because worship adjusts our gaze, from the temporary to the eternal. Accurate words or clever phrases fall short in describing what worship does to our spirit when we offer adoration and thanksgiving every day, and especially on those days when we can barely lift our eyes to see the horizon. 

Let’s make worshiping through music a part of our daily routine. We should fill our vacant moments with songs that incite us to worship our amazing God. He is always worthy of it.

Reflect

• Read through Psalm 150, and declare it to your God as you do. 
• Spend some time in stillness, or listening to a worship song — whatever you prefer. Offer that worship to God.
• Write down any revelation that God speaks to you through today’s Bible reading or devotional.