Why we worship.

For those of us that have grown up in church or in a religious context, we have an idea of what worship is. But for many of us, I think that often we think of the acts of worship rather than what worship truly is. What I find most difficult in my own life is being able to worship in the midst of different seasons of life. It is very easy to worship when things are going well and everything seems to be going accordingly, but it can be very difficult to worship when things seem to go haywire. The question that we have to ask ourselves is how are we able to worship in the times that are difficult? Firstly I believe that we have to redefine what worship is for ourselves. We often think of worship as singing, acts of service, or time in God’s word, but I believe that worship is the position of our hearts towards God in all moments of life. This means that our worship is how we view God and respond with our lives out of that viewpoint. The purest form of worship that we can have is when we are able to live in awe of God in the moments of good and in the moments of bad. The question that we have to answer is how do we do this?

I believe that we do this by viewing Jesus as He is rightly meant to be viewed, as Lord. In Philippians 2:9-11 Paul writes: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ” Paul writes these verses as He is in chains in a prison cell. It’s obvious He knew how to worship even in the hard moments. What we can take from these verses is truth and understanding that God has placed Jesus as Lord over all creation and over all of humanity. As Jesus is exalted by God the result is that at the end of it all everything in creation on earth and in heaven will one day bow and worship to who He is.  It was out of Christ’s humility and obedience to God that Jesus is exalted. Christ’s heart was ultimately positioned in a place of worship towards His Father that led to His obedience.

As Christians who seek to live in worship, we must be people who remember that Christ is exalted High and that in remembrance of His broken body and spilled blood we can have our hearts in a place of worship that knows He loves us and cares for us.