Read His Words Before Ours!
Colossians 3:1-17
Psalm 143
1 Samuel 7
True, biblical worship is found at the crossroads of our total surrender in the face of being awestruck at the magnificent glory of God.
Our ugliness.
His glory.
Our broken.
His perfection.
And every aspect of this glorious meeting is bound up, hemmed in on all sides, overflowing into every crevice, with unstoppable, permeating, love.
When we bring our full selves.
Not just the parts we like to pretty up, but the parts that make us cringe, the parts we wish would never rear their ugly heads, we are invited into true worship.
When I bring the shame that drops my head.
The voice of “not enough” echoing inside.
My judgmental attitude.
My self-righteousness.
My passion to control.
When my eyes behold His glory, all I’ve been grasping onto no longer matters, but is swallowed up by the fire of His presence; this is worship!
Just one look into the glory of our Savior shapes our hearts, shaves off our self-serving ways, and brings us into deep, authentic worship.
How quickly though this delight fades.
Frustration in a relationship pops up.
Our “still to do list”.
Reminders of financial tension.
Monotony of everyday.
Something that didn’t go as planned.
And we have all but forgotten the precious, life-giving bliss of falling on the grace of the Savior’s sturdy love.
My heart needs constant reminding.
Constant training.
Tuning.
Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Tune my heart, oh Christ, the glorious giver of every delightful blessing!
Train my soul to find full satisfaction in Yourself!
Let me never settle for lesser things!
Your good grace, Your abounding love, Your mercies
are unending!
They beckon me, these mercies.
Inviting me.
Whispering to my heart, “Come away, Beloved, find the source of life, here in the glory of My indescribable presence!
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of God’s unchanging love.
Fixed upon it.
Fixed.
What I learn in those sweet moments of unadulterated glorious transformative encounters with the Holy Most High sturdies my feet when distractions come again. When I am utterly transfixed on the radical gift of love from the Almighty God, while keeping in my sight my own hopeless depravity and inability to be my own rescuer, the chaotic waves of circumstance and relationship no longer matter in the way they did before the encounter.
Encountering Christ Jesus changes everything.
And the more we lean into that transformation, the sweeter our lives become because our worship is increasingly more authentic.
The more our hearts are trained to find delight in time spent with the God of the Universe – oh think of the glory of that! – the more we see the world through the lens of His peace and deep, dramatic love!
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
“Ebenezer” was first setup as a reminder stone to Israel. They had wandered from God and sinned, but had heeded His call of repentance. They had turned back to Him and found great delight. They offered sacrifices, repented, and God renewed their hearts!
Then the chaos ensued, as it always does, right?!
Their enemies, the Philistines, were hot on their trail and, finding them all gathered in one location, set out to destroy them.
But God would have none of that.
God showed up, displaying His power, and brought Israel, His chosen ones, resounding victory in the face of what could have been deadly defeat.
Israel responded with worship.
They set up a stone, an Ebenezer, as a reminder of what the Lord had done for them that day. How He had fought for them, despite the dire circumstances.
And so it is for us.
When we draw near to meet with Him, despite our daily, pressing “must-do’s”, when we find our solace in the place of His renewal instead of leaping headlong into our schedule, He will fight for us.
And when He does, dear one, make your own Ebenezer.
Write it down, post it on Facebook, tell a friend.
“My God just showed up for me! He brought me peace, He delivered me, He held my tongue when that conversation got heated. He adjusted my attitude when I was overwhelmed.”
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
HE IS MY RESCUER!
In life, in relationships, in finances, in the face of fear, illness, and deep discouragement.
This Lord who rescued me from the fires of eternal separation from Him because of my sin, continues to defeat my enemies and Oh, How I Worship Him!
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Tune my heart, Lord Jesus.
Oh yes, I am prone to wander.
Prone to leave you, my God whom I love.
Train my heart to come to you,
often,
daily,
moment by moment,
and find you as my solid, sweet changeless Victory!
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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Worship II Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Worship II!