This Thing Called Worship

What is worship? It is honor and reverence to God. It’s a verb, an action word. It’s a lifestyle. Worship is just as much for us, as it is for God. We worship God with our actions, with our words, our hearts, our praise, our voices and more. There are some songs that we sing that help to remind us of how good God is. How wonderful God has been. How faithful God is. Worship constantly reminds us of God’s faithfulness and promises.

There is something about worship that is a major boost for our spirit. Worship is like a Red Bull that gives you wings. Knowing that our God does not change, it really shifts some of the things we pray for. If we can acknowledge that God is a mighty warrior, then we won’t need to beg God to fight our battles. We just trust and believe, in worship, declaring that he has won the victory. In worship, we don’t doubt his abilities, we acknowledge them.

I believe there are levels to this thing called worship. Although we do not worship God for our personal gain, our worship really dictates various aspects of our walk with Christ. I am hoping that you are able to gain some additional insight into what worship is and can be in the life of a Christian. In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to understand worship differently than I did before.

Worship as a lifestyle. (Romans 12:1 NIV)
As we see in the popular verse, Romans 12:1, we learn that living a holy life and offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is acceptable worship to Christ. Diving deeper, it is not enough to say that living a “sinless” life is worship. Offering our bodies means that in every thing we do, it is in servitude and reverence to Christ. That includes at work, at school, and wherever you find yourself.

Worship as a move of faith. (2 Chr 20:17-18 NLT)
We see that King Jehoshaphat was going to war and instead of working on strategies and ways to defeat his enemies, he worshiped God. Through his worship, he defeated the enemy. In worship, we exercise our faith in knowing confidently the God we serve and trusting God to continue to be who He is.

Worship as acceptance of God’s sovereignty. (2 Sam 12:20 NIV, Job 1:20-21 NIV)
We see that King David’s son has fallen ill and was about to die, just as God promised David, due to David’s sins. David did not eat. However, we see that after David’s son died, instead of cursing God, David worshiped God. I believe that David was acknowledging God’s sovereignty. We also see that in the case of Job, where Job acknowledges that God gives and takes, and all he can do is bless the name of the Lord. This shows us that even in our hardship, God is still worthy to be praised.

Worship is not something that we only do on Saturday or Sunday, or just one day. It’s an every day thing. We worship God even in our silence. Without words, our lifestyle is a form of worship to God. Worship is not only to honor God, but it is just as important for us as Christians. It helps us to truly recognize the God that we serve so that we can have a fresh perspective of Christ. It helps us to recognize his qualities and traits, even through good times and hardships.

Let’s pray (or should I say, let’s worship):

Heavenly Father, I worship you today for who you are, for being a good Father, for being faithful, for keeping your promises, for being true. Father, we worship you today, because you are truly the king of our hearts, the king of our lives and the Creator of the Universe. We honor you today, because you are unchangeable. You remain the same. Even when everything around us is wavering, you are constant. Victorious God, we bless you, for you are a mighty warrior and fight our battles daily. We give you glory and honor, now and forever more. Amen.