One of the key aspects which helps me cope, endure and/or overcome when things are rocky or the climb gets steep is to worship.
Not worshiping food, making money, entertainment, sports, or shopping (don’t worry, will be chatting about this topic in future days, so not leaving y’all hanging for too long) but offering our worship and thanks to God.
Worship to me includes these 4 aspects:
- Acknowledging who He is
- Appreciating what He has done
- Actively seeking Him in the now
- Anticipating His action to come
Now, I am a word girl… so daily reading, speaking and singing His Words is an act of worship for me. You may love to walk in the outdoors and offer your worship to Him in His creation. Some love to sit and just be silent, and fix their thoughts on one aspect of who God is (ie. love, grace giver, mercy extender) and meditate upon them for a period of time. Others create their worship through the arts and express it through their chosen mediums, still others journal their daily thanks lists.
How we choose to worship is not the point, but who we focus on is.
God created all of creation to worship Him…. the angels, people, the animals, birds, ocean creatures, etc. And we were designed to worship Him alone.
He also knew that the enemy would start to tempt us away from Him to focus on other things, and lure us from worshiping God. For the enemy knows the power of worship first hand/ He was after all, one of God’s angels, who decided he wanted to be the one worshiped instead of extending to God what He was due.
And Satan was not alone. It appears that a third of the angels (a shocker to my system when I first read that as hinted in Revelation 12:4) left to serve the devil instead of God. So rebellion must be a choice, if even an angel can fall prey to its siren call.
We daily have a choice to invite God into our day, our choices, our lives, the situations we find ourselves in. Worship is one of the key ways that we can show our honor and appreciation to God, as we declare to the heavenlies who He is, who we really are as His children, and that He is going before us to battle for us.
It’s our choice to use this tool, to wield this weapon on the hard days. It is a tool I have seen God use to deepen our relationship, reveal insight, and lift my mood when I am feeling blue, sad, upset or lonely.
One of my all time favorite worship songs is “Glorified” by Jared Anderson. Its lyrics capture worship eloquently, and always kick starts my heart to draw closer to God as I lift His name high. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H667w4HdcVQ
May you too begin to use worship as a faith deepener, and may He powerfully meet you in those moments when you do!
KARLA LEES 