February 6, 2023
Melissa Valerio
What does worship mean to you? If you were to ask me that question at 14 years of age, I would have said “Loving Joey Joe with all my heart and waiting for him to come get me.” That’s totally what you’d expect from a teenager obsessed with the greatest boy band ever formed. But fast forward several decades later and a whole lot of “life” lived, and you will get a completely different answer. Because TRUE worship is more than just doing. It’s also living.
We all worship something. If it’s not God, then it’s usually self. Or someone else, like most 14-year-old girls do. Or it could be something else. Like money, status, position, homes, cars, clothes, makeup, jewelry, sports, movies, celebrities, or anything else that takes up the most space in our hearts. The problem with that is we don’t actually fill any voids in our hearts with things or people. They may bring happiness for a time, but then we’re left dry again. Did you know that we were actually made to worship? That’s why it’s so easy to do so. It’s just that our minds have been tricked by Satan into thinking that the pleasures of this world will make us happy and content forever. But they eventually fade, don’t they? Think about it…. it’s exciting at first, yes, but then after some time those same feelings of excitement slowly burn away. That’s because our worship is misplaced. The enduring thrill we are seeking can be found, but it’s found only in a Person, not in a thing. It’s found in Jesus Christ. Worshiping Him will bring the most joy, blessing, excitement, and contentment we could ever experience.
So now then, much like the Holy Scriptures, our worship is alive and active and sharper than a double-edged sword. It involves everything we do. Here are some of the ways we can worship God:
Waiting on Him
Trusting Him
Praying to Him
Obeying Him
Singing to Him
Reading His Word (the bible)
Thanking Him
Forgiving others
Serving others
Encouraging others
Loving others
Giving to others
There are so many ways we can worship the Lord. It’s a lifestyle more than an act we perform on Sunday mornings. There is nothing wrong with singing to Him, we just don’t want to limit our worship to Sunday mornings, and then do nothing more the rest of the week. Paul describes us as “living sacrifices” in Romans 12:1-2. Presenting ourselves to the Lord for His use and His purposes. Our bodies, minds, hearts, intentions, words, actions. The whole bit, our whole life long! So, what does worship mean to me now? I wasn’t too far off back then…. Loving Jesus with all my heart and waiting for Him to come get me ❤️
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for making us worshipers by nature. We’ve been blinded most of our lives into thinking the pleasures of this world will bring us lasting happiness. We don’t need to test it ourselves; King Solomon gives us a hefty warning that everything under the sun eventually dies off. Bring our hearts back to You and remind us of our first love, You. Help us to devote our lives to You. In the name of Your holy Son, Jesus, Amen.
Action: Pick seven things from the list above and do one each day of the week. When you are worshiping (each one of those seven actions), be conscious of God’s presence and think about how pleasing your worship is to Him, like a fragrant offering you are bringing before Him.