Post By: Angela Parlin
Everyone worship the Lord.
Ascribe Him the glory due Him. Proclaim His majesty.
Be in awe before such power.
Come worship wonderful Yahweh, in all His holy beauty.
Give Him the honor due His name!
(Excerpts from Psalm 29, NIV & Passion Translation)
One of my highlights this year has been sitting with the Lord alone most days, praying without multitasking. In this time, I worship and adore God, confess my sins, thank Him for an incredible amount of blessings, and pour out my cares before Him, asking for His help.
I had no idea worship would become the part of my prayers I long for most.
I didn’t realize I would set out to give the Lord the honor due His name–yet I would receive so much blessing.
It’s not that I failed to worship the Lord before. It’s just that I didn’t take regular time away from other people–and other tasks–in order to worship Him alone. To worship without multitasking.
But what is worship, really? Worship is often more than sitting with God alone, in prayer and song.
Look up the definition of worship, and you’ll find a number of ideas. Some think worship is a service you attend, a feeling you have toward a deity, or homage paid to God or another sacred object.
Oxford Dictionary defines worship as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.”
Paul, the apostle, offers another definition of worship in Romans 12:1-2,
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (NIV)
True worship begins with a view of God’s mercy.
We have done nothing to deserve His kindness, yet He heaps it upon us.
His mercy includes His unending love for us, even while we were yet sinners, His grace and forgiveness, eternal life by faith, our reconciliation to God, the gift of the Holy Spirit, newness of life, peace, joy, hope, freedom, and even more than all of this.
Just try to remember God’s mercies toward you, without being moved to worship. It’s impossible!
So we worship God, by focusing on His mercies, by preaching the gospel to ourselves again and again, because we so easily forget who God is, the depths of His love for us, and all we have IN Him.
Paul urges us further, to offer our bodies, our whole selves, to God. This is our action step.
We present–or give over to God’s control–our bodies, including our heart and thoughts and attitudes. We do not follow the pattern of the world any longer, because as we offer ourselves to God, He cleans and changes and renews us.
This practice of viewing God’s mercies, of simply remembering who God is and telling Him, has surprised me this year. The more I worship God, the more I adore Him in my heart.
My whole life falls into clarity when I adore God and remember who He is, and who I am in light of Him.
My cares and concerns don’t disappear–but they fade behind the majesty of God.
So everyone, let’s worship the Lord. Let’s remember who He is, in all His holy beauty, and give Him the honor due His name.
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Angela Parlin is a wife and mom to 3 rowdy boys and 1 sweet girl. In addition to spending time with friends and family, she loves to read and write, spend days at the beach, watch romantic comedies, and organize closets. But most of all, she loves Jesus and writes to call attention to the beauty of life in Christ, even when that life collaborates with chaos. Join her at www.angelaparlin.com, So Much Beauty In All This Chaos.
Angela, I really enjoyed your words. You got me thinking about how mercy is the conduit to being a living sacrifice and to true worship. This post has inspired me to steal some quiet moments away to worship. Thank you!
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Angela, thank you for your words here. I appreciate this especially: “So we worship God, by focusing on His mercies, by preaching the gospel to ourselves again and again, because we so easily forget who God is, the depths of His love for us, and all we have IN Him.”
That kind of worship can (and should) happen all day, whatever I’m doing. There’s so much more to our relationship with God than a quiet time in the morning. Thank you for that reminder.
Angela speaks powerful truth. Thanks for joining us here Asheritah! Have a fabulous weekend.
I so enjoyed your words today. I to feel like I’ve become closer to God since the Lent season started.. I’m handicappoed and I sit alone all day until my husband arrives home. I just start talking out loud to the Lord. Thank you so much for allowing me to read your words. You’ve made me closer to the Lord also. God Bless Constance
It’s a pure blessing to know that Angela’s words so inspired you Constance. May you walk closer and closer to the Lord all the time.
Thank you, Angela, for this insightful message on worship. This line especially caught my attention – “My whole life falls into clarity when I adore God and remember who He is, and who I am in light of Him.” So very true. Whatever happens in my life becomes clear when I remember WHO GOD IS and who I am IN HIM.
Amen! I celebrate with both of you ladies. What truth Angela offered us in her post. Thank you God that you are – who you are! – Kelly