{Worship | Three Things}

The Why.  It's the thing that motivates and moves you. It informs your behavior and shapes your attitudes. It's a BIG deal. Huge.

Why do we do what we do? Why do we say what we say? Why do we sing? Why do we play our instruments? When we define our "why" properly, we can feel confident that we are at least headed in the right direction. Here are three things to consider when defining the WHY behind worship.

1. Worship is a matter of the heart; it's about what we love. John Piper, one of the wisest theologians of this age wrote, "Worship is all about consciously reflecting the worth or value of God. The inner essence of worship is prizing Christ. Cherishing Him, treasuring Him, being satisfied with Him." And isn't it true? Worship from a divided heart does not properly reflect the worth or value of God. It just can't. He gives everything and deserves everything in return.  May we continuously, deliberately pursue Him so that we can know Him and love Him most of all. Then, let our love for Him be the primary reason we worship.

2. Worship is a function of the mind; it's about what you believe. We cannot overlook the importance of developing right knowledge of God.  Our theology (what we believe about God) is important because authentic worship cannot happen apart from right knowledge of God. In worship, our theology shapes our philosophy (what one believes about worship). In turn, our philosophy of worship determines our methodology (how one does worship). Knowing God more fully enables us to worship Him more fully. Theology, rightly applied, will inform our minds and captivate our hearts so that we love God passionately.  You cannot encounter the truth of who God is and be left unchanged. So then, let the truth of who He is define our worship.

3. Worship is lived out in the moments of everyday life. I love corporate worship. There is something especially beautiful when God's people gather and worship. But, corporate worship is meant to be a natural overflow of personal, private devotion. Day after day, in every moment, there is a battle being waged for our attention and our affection. The enemy of our soul would like nothing more than to see our worship misguided and misdirected. He laughs, pleased with himself,  when Christians become comfortable with the monotony of our religious activities, the going-through-the-motions because our hearts and minds aren't engaged. He celebrates a tiny victory when we live so distracted through the week that we neglect turning our attention toward Our Father. What if we allow our love for Him and our relationship with Him to seep into our everyday moments? See,  if we love Him passionately and know Him intimately, then pausing to make space for Him in the tiniest details of our life is just what we do. He is concerned with the details, after all. He's there, waiting to be invited into the everyday moments. Can we learn to recognize Him in those everyday moments, and allow our lives to be consumed by Him and surrendered to the Holy Spirit? And then, worship becomes the natural response because we are mindful of Him.

Here's the thing: Worship is about our posture and position. It's the posture of our hearts and minds and our position in Christ. Our entire lives positioned firmly in Him.  It's about seeing ourselves in light of who He is and what He's done for us. See, for me, when I have a true picture of His holiness, goodness, faithfulness, and unfailing love, I immediately recognize my utter need for Him.  That's when our worship becomes real. That's when we stand up to sing songs about Him and we mean it. We believe it. We live it. HE becomes our why.  And, then, our why is bigger than life! And worship from that posture becomes less about our preferences and more about His presence. We can't encounter His presence and be left unaffected. 

May I encourage you today, sweet friends? Look up. Fix your eyes on Him. What you'll find is that He's already gazing back at you. You've captured His heart and He longs to capture yours.

{Full Circle}

Sure, it's been a lot of years. He was born and died before he was a year old. And, Saturday would have been his birthday. Emotions run wild on a day like this. There's sadness mixed with happiness; and then, gratitude mixed with wonder at the unfailing love of a Savior who picked up the pieces and put them all back together. Yeah, there's that. It's not uncommon for me on these kinds of days to seek solitude and quiet. My introverted self demands it.  But this day was way too full.

Instead of solitude and quiet, I stood on a platform in a crowded room full of people I didn't know. I was there with a team of pretty awesome musicians - most of whom I also didn't know - leading worship. On his birthday. That might not seem like a big deal, but the significance wasn't lost on me, though very few people in the room knew my story. God, however, knows my story, and He whispered to my heart that day to remind me.  Sometimes, I need those reminders. You, too? In this very sweet moment, God was drawing a giant circle around that season of my life and reminding me that there was a purpose in it. This was it. He was using me to declare His goodness and unfailing love. See, the truth of who He is is and what He has done can be applied to any and every situation. Mine. Yours. His goodness breaks through darkness and brings with it a glimmer of hope, because He is hope. He. Is. Hope. Here's the thing: I would never understand the depths of His love the way that I do without having lived through those moments. He lifted me out of a pit so that I could do the very thing I was doing that day. I was telling His story! The story of a love so great that He gave everything. The story of a God so good that nothing compares to Him. Nothing. What better way to honor Tyler's memory than by standing and declaring the greatness of God? What better proof of the faithfulness and unfailing love of God than to stand and sing of His incomparable goodness? I just can't even. . .

May I encourage you today, sweet friends? God is good. His goodness will penetrate the darkness even in the most difficult moments. And eventually, those most difficult, dark moments in your life will become more about His goodness than about your pain. You will find yourself standing in a spot where you expect pain and instead, you find peace. Or, you expect sadness and instead, you find gratitude and joy. I promise. He loves you so.