Your relationship with God will in large part be determined by your knowledge of the one true God who reveals Himself in His Word, and by your response to His love and grace shown in Jesus Christ. Those who lack a desire to worship God, to honor Him, to praise Him, to love Him, to thank Him, and to serve Him reveal a "heart problem," and that comes from a "head problem." I have often traced the reluctance of a person to gather with His people in worship, or to pray, or to read and study His Word, or to meditate on God's goodness to one source: a mind set on self and a heart set on the things of this world. This condition leads to self-pity and disappointment ... to the idea that somehow "God" has let them down or even failed them in some way. It is impossible to worship God, to trust Him, to love and serve Him, when you are unhappy with the way He is treating you and you think you deserve better.
On the other hand, when by the work of His Spirit through His Word you begin to know His love for you in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay your debt on the cross and to give you a new spiritual life, you receive His grace by faith and your mind is transformed to enable you to give thanks, and your heart is moved to praise and worship and serve the One who saved you from your bondage to sin! It is then that your whole life becomes an offering of worship to the God of grace whom you have come to know as "Abba, Father!". Truly, God's grace to His redeemed children is amazing!!
One of the best places to go in God's Word to learn how to express yourself in worship to your Father in heaven is the Psalms. Even though these Psalms were written before Jesus Christ entered the world or went to the cross, the Spirit of God used the writers of the Psalms to lead God's people in worship. The Psalms express the honest thoughts and emotions of those who knew their sin and their need of forgiveness and grace. It is as though the writers of the Psalms knew you and me, because human nature through all generations has not changed. Living in a world so deeply affected by mankind's rebellion against the God who created them, the writers of the Psalms expressed truth from God that people in every generation need to hear and that those who have the same Spirit of God within us today can identify with.
One of the places I go to read in the Psalms to get my mind and heart set on the One who alone is worthy of worship is a brief "section" from Psalm 95 to Psalm 100. Some of the Psalms indicate who wrote them, but these Psalms are songs written to guide those who believe to worship by reminding us who God is and what He has done and why He is worthy of our praise. Worship is, in reality, acknowledging God for who He is and giving thanks to Him for what He has done for you, personally, and for all those who by His grace have come to know Him as their Savior and Lord.
Just briefly, I'll share a few verses from these Psalms, and then I encourage you to read them in their entirety for yourself. First, Psalm 95:1-6: "O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand."
Isn't that beautiful?? Do you see how worship is a response? If you find it hard to worship, to set your mind above, to think good thoughts of the God who is worthy of worship, what are you thinking about? As some would say, "Where is your head???". Could it be that your heart has been made dull and without emotion because you are caught up in the things of the world and distracted by the desires of the flesh? Repent, turn away from self and worldliness, and draw near to the One who is able to give you true joy in His presence!!
Psalm 96 points to the source of worship in the first three verses: "Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!". Go and read the rest of the Psalm for yourself and see if thinking such things doesn't humble you and lead you to worship the LORD, "Yahweh," the great "I AM"!!
Worship, you see, is personal. It flows from a personal knowledge of what God has done for YOU as you reflect on His character and His faithfulness. I'll close this blog with Psalm 100, a Psalm I memorized as a young boy and that has stuck with me through all these years: "Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, HE is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name! For the LORD is good; and His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations."
I pray that even as you read through these words you are "feeling better" ... that your mind and heart are being moved by the Holy Spirit away from all the distractions, and that you feel somehow "lighter," more joyful, knowing that the joy and peace you are searching for can never be found in the things of the world, but only in the Lord your God, your Creator. It is He who invites you to enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise, for He knows that only there will your burden be lifted and your heart be made full. Decide now to gather with others in worship, and throughout the week return often to the Psalms to reset your mind and your heart with truth that will set you free from life's worries and fears. God is so good to those who love Him because He first loved you!!
