Beautiful Simplicities

The word “worship” has more power than we think. There is so much meaning within that one word. One way I love to worship God is through music. I have always found a strong connection to God when singing to Him. I especially love when a whole group is together, singing praise to God. But worship doesn’t only come in the form of music. Worship is found in reading the Bible, praying to God, and even in how we live our each and every day. That is why I say that there is so much meaning within the word worship. Worship is an essential part of our lives.

Like I said before, I’m sure that most of you all associate worship with music. Music made it’s way into Christian culture many years ago, and it continues to be a way that we connect with God. This kind of worship has had such a moving impact on my life. We all have those songs with lyrics that we feel God wrote directly for us. God works through music in such a beautiful way. Music is a way that God intercedes through us in order to reach people and connect with them. I’ve been a worship leader for a while now, and it is amazing to see how music moves people. I could go on and on about the power within it. What I have also seen as a worship leader is the need for worship to continue on in our daily walk of life, not just when we are singing praise to God.

Even as a worship leader, it’s easy to have days where I get up to lead people in worship and feel distant. These days usually stem from when I shut God out and attempt to face all that is going on in the world without God. It usually stems from my tendency to not carry out worship in other aspects of my life. The world, right now, is full of so much negativity. There is so much hurt. I get on social media, and it’s all so loud. We have all gotten to this place of bitterness. I see people, instead of coming together, that are telling others to get out of their life. As a worship leader, sometimes I get distracted because all of this is so distracting. The noise of the world is all so loud. This is also not how we should worship God.

Worshipping God is seen in how we live our day to day lives. It’s shown through how we love God’s precious human-beings, that He created. It’s shown through us being the example of Christ that the world needs. Merriam Webster defines worship as the action ” to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion”. In order to show God our devotion, we need to worship God by living out our days like Christ would. Right now, sadly, we haven’t been the best at worshipping God. We have been spreading negativity and not been focused on worship. Many of us have been focused on the world. You may show up to church and worship God with all of your heart through your praise, but are you worshipping God in your day-to-day life?

We need to pray. We need to pray for what is on our hearts. What is on others hearts. This is a form of worship. We need to read the Bible, and find where we believe the Bible stands on issues. Don’t have others tell you what to believe. Read it for yourself, and develop your own relationship with God. Your relationship with God is not going to be the same as your best friends’. That’s okay. But remember reading Scripture is a form of worship that is connecting you with God in your own special way. I’ve always regarded worship as a way of connecting. Praying and reading Scripture are just that.

Praying and reading the Bible can be viewed as an armor. They get us ready to step out into the mission field of life. Approach every day as if it is a mission field because it is!! Every day is a beautiful opportunity to love and bring people to know the love of Christ. This is furthering the Kingdom of God. When you step out of bed, the evil one should tremble. That evil one should be scared because you’re going to worship God to the best of your ability. You’re going to shut out all of the lies in the world, and you’re going to defeat them with love. You’re going to get even closer to God through your prayers and Bible reading, and the evil one knows, there is no power that can overcome the power of God. We should sing a little louder, pray a little more, and love with all of our hearts. Worship all starts in the heart. If your heart is not set in the right place, it’s a whole lot easier to fall into the same pattern as the rest of the world.

There was a video I watched when I was younger that always stuck in my mind. The video included a huge group of people that were all dressed the exact same, in grey clothing. They were all following the same flow. They seemed to be walking, almost as they were robots, all in the same direction. All of a sudden, there were others that walked into this crowd, going the opposite direction. They were dressed in very bright colors. There is symbolism here. The grey dressed, big group of people that were all walking in the same direction represented the world. The people dressed in colorful coloring, walking in the opposite direction were the people choosing to not conform to the world. After I watched this video, I did something that may sound comical, but it was actually very helpful for me. I wrote probably fifty notecards that all said the same thing. They said “Don’t Conform to the World”. I hid them all around my house. Every time I’d come across one, I was reminded that I didn’t need to conform. If I caught myself going into the pattern of the world, I stopped myself in my tracks. If we are living out each and every day for God, we are going to be those people in colorful clothes walking against the flow. It’s not easy, but this beautiful imagery demonstrates a form of worship. It shows people giving it all to God, instead of giving it all to the world. Are you just following the pattern of the world? If so, try to live out your beliefs in God, and stop living for the approval of others.

Worship God to the best of your ability. God wants to equip you for the challenges of this world. God also doesn’t want you falling into the trap that the world sets for us. It’s easy to be consumed in negativity, but if we want to worship God to the best of our abilities, we need to choose our relationship with God over it all. Instead of conforming to the world, start worshipping God by being different and being the one who lives for our all-mighty God.

Worship connects us to God, so let’s worship a little more.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. – Psalm 29:2