Worship

We are commanded to worship. Our lives were meant to bring worship to God. But it's such an uncomfortable thing for some of us that we just don't know how to go about doing it. I've seen some of you at church on Sunday morning...your hands jammed in your pockets, your mouths shut, nervously scanning the room to see who is watching you. Relax! This isn't what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about singing or praying or acting a certain way in a gathering time on Sunday morning. I'm talking about lifestyle. Carol Cymbala says this in her book He's Been Faithful:

We know, too, that the deepest worship happens not when we raise our hands and shout "Alleluia" or sing a hand-clapping chorus. That's easy. The deepest worship happens as we surrender ourselves over and over to God. Jesus, while on earth, was the perfect example of this kind of worship.

After reading that quote, this thought struck my mind. We know Jesus worshipped His Father. We know that He was the model for our lives. But never once do we read any specifics about Jesus' worship "practices" while at the synagogue. Why? Because they didn't matter! They still don't. Regardless of what some might lead you to believe, worship begins with your decision every single day to live a surrendered life before God. It means choosing--in what you eat (yes, what you eat), what you say, what you do, how you spend your time--to submit your plan to His direction. God desires this far more than any particular action on Sunday morning. He is looking for you and I to worship Him hard...with everything we do. May that thought change how you and I approach this day...and every day that follows.