Worship

When I think about the word worship, there's only one word that comes to mind....indescribable. There's really not one word or group of words to truly define what worship is. Biblically, it's ascribing glory, honor and praise to our Creator, our Healer, our Provider, our King, our Prince of Peace, our Lion of Judah (you get the picture). Worship is more than the songs you sing; it's how you live your life...how you put your friends before yourself, it's honoring your parents, it's how you talk to one another, how you love one another, it's about staying married to the person God has given you. But, for some reason, God has used the avenue of music for us to worship Him, our all-knowing, yet forgiving God! All through the Bible are Scriptures that show us what worship in heaven is like. There is a lot of singing, dancing, playing instruments, falling facedown, yelling, lifting up of hands...all to our great and glorious King!! Something happens when a group of unified believers come together with one goal...to have an encounter with God. Miracles happen: salvation, healings of souls, hearts and bodies, prophetic words (again, you get the picture), lives are changed, a shifting in the spiritual realm occurs and specific purposes and callings are whispered in the ears and hearts of people all over this little blue dot we call Earth. My heart is for people, especially the youth generation, to worship God with no reservations, no hindrances. One of the most impactful sites I have seen was not too long ago. I was at Atlanta Fest at Six Flags and David Crowder was playing. At the opposite end of where I was standing was the section for the deaf. Over there I saw young people worshipping without any hindrances. To the mortal, infantile human mind, deaf people going to a concert is pointless. But what I saw brought tears to my eyes. These young people were pouring their hearts out to God in worship through their sign language! Believe me, God was blessed and pleased! I have to believe that their sign language here on earth was a beautiful melody up in heaven, one where even the angels sing along to it! The hindrance would obviously be that they cannot physically sing their praises and adorement to our risen King and Savior, but even though they had this obstacle in life, they had one goal...to have a true encounter with God! Like I said, worship is more than singing songs. I will forever have this picture in my mind whether I'm in my secret place worshipping God, or I am in a congregational setting. Who am I to not "feel" like worshipping when I've had a bad day, or when I'm tired? It is during these situations in life, when things aren't going the way I want them to, that God is calling us to press in and with all that's within us say, Lord, You are in control, You are sovereign, You are so good and I want to praise you!! Matt Redman puts it best: Lord You give and take away, but my heart will truly say, Lord blessed be Your name!! David understood this. All throughout the Psalms he was going through the ups and downs of life, but he still pressed in and blessed His Lord. Job is another excellent example...everything was taken away from him but he still dug down deep in his spirit and worshipped!
There is a special calling on the younger generation right now and He is looking all throughout the Earth for those who hearts are truly His! In a way, you can say that he is recruiting worshippers, to worship Him in times of plenty and times of drought. To worship Him in spirit and in the truth of who God is! But what does that mean? Honestly, I don't fully know yet. Our hearts cry should be for our spirits to be partnered with His during worship, allowing Him to speak and change your life. Because, that's what happens when we really have an encounter with Him...we can't help but be changed. In Ezekiel (ch. 46: 9-10) it describes the entering of the people to the place of worship. It says that whoever enters by the north gate should leave out the south gate (and vice versa). The lesson to learn from this is that whenever we come to a worship setting and meet with God, we leave changed. If we leave a worship service unchanged, then we did not have a true encounter with God! In Hebrew, the word worship means to "lay prostrate, to adore, to kiss the ground" and the word praise means "to lift your hands up and to not quench your fists together as if you are holding something." My prayer is this: Don't hold anything back in worship, adore Him! He is worthy! He reigns over every situation we will go through! If you do this, you will have an encounter with the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and you will be changed! Changed in such a way that your entire being and lifestyle will be characterized as worshipful. Changed so much so that your family will be impacted, your school, your city, your state, your country, the world! Lord, You give and take away, but help us and teach us to press in, endure and truly say, Blessed Be Your Name!!!

Grace and peace