Worship

In my Sunday School class, we have been studying the gospel of John and the letter he wrote to the church at Ephesus. We’ve been studying first loves and how the church’s love had waned as false teaching was adopted into the church/doctrine.

I grew up in the church I now attend. I haven’t attended there for the last 20 years but my foundation in Jesus began there. We had amazing children’s workers who poured into us and taught us about the love of Jesus (and we still do). I fell in love with Jesus here at this church.

Over the years, I’ve grown in my walk with the Lord. I’ve pressed into more of him, I’ve experienced more of him, I’ve loved him greatly and been loved greatly by him. I’ve also failed him so many times and in multiple ways. I’ve accepted things I shouldn’t have, I’ve sown into areas in my life that had no business in my fields (and reaped from them destruction), I’ve focused more on what I looked like or how I was perceived than what lied in my heart. I’m so grateful for grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

That brings me to worship.

From the time I was a little girl, the Lord and I have always most interacted in worship. I’ve been drawn to him in music and I’m very sensitive there (I have to be mindful of how much/what I listen to because of this sensitivity). I’ve always felt free to lift my hands, to raise my voice, to cry out to him in the altar. That combined with the fact I have a musical ability has led me to a platform of worship in different times of my life.

What I have found is that the more I operate in this gift, the more the enemy opposes me. The more he works to discourage me with my worship. To try and have me compare myself to other leaders, other worshippers. To remind me I’m “too much” or that I “shouldn’t” act a certain way when I worship because it might be “distracting.” The devil is a liar.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our Father draws us unto him in worship. We can see documentation of worship in the Bible of singing, dancing, weeping, rejoicing, clapping and raising of hands, etc. Yet the enemy seeks to keep us bound in our worship. Fearful of what others may think, what others may say, whether or not we’re genuine, whether or not we’re going to sound nice.

Let me say that if there is FEAR, it is NOT of the Lord. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. The enemy uses fear that is rooted in shame or guilt in order to keep us bound. Keeping us bound in shame or in guilt will force us to cower in the presence of God rather than take hold of all he has for us. When we are bound in shame and guilt, we feel unworthy or undeserving of love, goodness, kindness, mercy, sometimes even forgiveness.

There is freedom in the Lord. There is freedom in our worship. When we lay down every piece of ourselves, when we cast aside every thought or perception of another, and instead boldly approach the throne, hands raised and hearts lifted in praise for the goodness of who the Lord is…THAT is when chains are broken, that is when restoration comes, that is when there is FREEDOM in his spirit.

”Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

”But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.“
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Worship doesn’t have to sound a certain way.

Worship doesn’t have to look a certain way.

You can:

Raise your hands – high or low.

Jump. Dance. Shout. March. Run.

But you NEED to:

Align your heart to the heart of the Father in repentance and reverence and then follow his lead.

Worship isn’t about US. It isn’t about the harmony we sing, the movement we make, there’s no magic formula or cheat code that ushers in the spirit. It isn’t about anyone in the room but HIM.

Our worship is a place in which we lay down ourselves, the weight we carry, the day to day struggles, and we cry out to the Lord because he is holy, he is worthy, he is good.

There is nothing good IN me except him. I know that and I acknowledge that daily to remind myself.

Worship doesn’t just happen in the sanctuary on Sunday morning, it can happen right where you are. I’d even argue it needs to happen where you are more often than it happens on Sunday morning. Focus on the Lord and use your voice to express what he means to you (close your eyes if you need to, lift your hands, weep, cry out, shout, jump, dance, etc.).

He hears us. He sees us. He communes with us. All because he loves us. ♥️