The heart of Worship

“For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself. How I love and praise you, God!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬

A friend of mine said to me yesterday, “You are so strong for still showing up after what happened to you.” I started thinking about it. I stay on words people say to try to understand them or what they meant. So I thought about it. “Am l strong? Am l courageous? Is that what it is?” And honestly I think it’s something else. I’ve had quite a rough life, living in a land that is not so nice to foreigners , not being able to get the job for a long time and many other things I’ve been through that I can’t share now. My focus then was always ME. Why ME? Lord ME. The job for ME. The money for ME. I made myself the centre of it all and so when I was not able to get what I wanted or things went otherwise , it would make me crash. My feelings, my heart , my thoughts, everything would make me crumble. This is true for many people – you are affected and afflicted by the fact that you haven’t gotten what you want – the things that sponsor “ME” – that is why you are a seasonal worshipper.

We have tied our worship to things. If the job doesn’t come , I’m not showing up to serve. If something bad befalls me , I’m done with God. If I lose what/who I love – I’m no longer praying or praising. We have made it about US! The truth is many people have purposed in their hearts – unless God shows up – they’re not showing up. They gave God an ultimatum . They think they can threaten God. “Give me this or I will worship the devil” Silly behaviour. I’m wowed by the verse for the day – another version says – Your love is BETTER than life! What a statement!

For life without the love of God is nothing else than death: a man that has no share in the love of God is dead while he lives; all the enjoyments of life, health, riches, honour, friends, &c. are nothing without the love of God; the meanest temporal blessings. What fuels our worship? Is it the meaningless things that Solomon discovers about life or is it the love of God? Learning to seek God in the dry seasons of our lives shows that we are more than kingdom citizens – we are sons! The heart of worship is the heart of Job. Come what may, stay what may, leave who may, come who may , l will worship! Will you worship if the relationship doesn’t work out? Will you worship while you’re waiting for the contract to be signed? Okay , so what if it takes 5 years to get what you want – does that mean your worship has been suspended for 5 years? See? There is more to worship than “I worship you because you gave me a job!” There is moreeeeeee!

I thank God for growth. From who I used to be. Throwing tantrums, yelling at God (yes l have), angry at God, complaining everyday, refusing to see my life from His perspective, I’ve finally found out the true meaning of worship – it is EVEN SO. Even so – l will worship. To know that God is more concerned about my future more than I will ever be. He is more committed to my success than I will ever be. So why pause our intimacy with God because the world has given us a report that we don’t have enough. We have enough! GOD IS ENOUGH! We praise , we worship no matter what! Remember, prolonged sadness is a choice. Joy is also a choice. Don’t let situations determine your praise! Here’s some links to my current fave!

Worship

Praise