on worship // battle.

Absolutely: worship is a battlefield.  And not just the allotted time of worship on Sunday mornings (because let's face it - we do get distracted here and there), but a lifestyle of worship.  With all the demands of the day, and all the emotions and thoughts we've had to carry, we find ourselves too drained and too discouraged to press in to worship.  What?  Read the Word?  Sing?  We fall asleep.  Or we sing a lyric and our mind tangents off to areas that vie for our attention: relationships, responsibilities, imagination.

But all these things - distractions and discouragements - they flood our mind only because the enemy will do what it takes to prevent us from taking up weapons of warfare that is found in Worship and the Word.  The enemy wars for our attention.  He's after our focus.

Anything can steal our focus.  A troubled mind.  A heavy heart.  Temptations of selfishness and pride.  Bitterness or resentment.  Affections.  Hopes and fears.  Anxiety.

And yet, the key remains, that the only way to grasp an undivided attention is to press into worship.  Yes, it is going to prove itself to be a difficulty.  But this is why we refer to it as "a sacrifice of praise" - because it is will cost us something.  It is costly to push our agenda aside - our thoughts, our feelings, our motives - all for the sake of honoring one who is more worthy of our thoughts, feelings, and motives.  It is to die to our flesh, to fully surrender, to lay it all down.

We sing a beautiful chorus and as it repeats and the lyrics become memory, it embeds into our spirits and we catch ourselves singing it throughout the day, throughout the week, sometimes subconsciously. And without realizing it, these repeated Truths transform into our second nature.  In the moment of struggle, and doubt, and anxiety, the lyrics become weapons: "God I look to You, I won't be overwhelmed...." Suddenly, our spirits are uplifted, and we have joy again.  We hope again.  And this is the power of worship - these are the repercussions of worship.

And you see, it is not that we hide our struggles, or ignore them like infected wounds.  No, these things matter to us, and we matter to God- He is in the business of taking care of our hearts.  The honest surrender in worship, of putting His agenda before ours, is saying, "I trust You, Jesus, to fight for me."  And the beautiful thing is, He does.  And He wins.

He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me...
- Psalm 55.18

In the place of difficulty and suffering, giving God the honor and praise in our worship is the way that we battle the enemy.  We recognize that we are weak and frail and failures, but that our God is strong for us, and that His grace covers our sin, and that His love goes beyond our capacity.  We recognize that He has made us to live free and to receive His goodness, and to let this gift of love overflow.

I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me
My flesh may fail, but my God, You never will.
- "Give Me Faith," Elevation Worship

The Scripture passage to meditate on is Psalm 57.  David was fleeing for his life, and yet his response was to worship God and to recognize His faithfulness.  Ask the Lord what He wants to show you through this chapter.  And remember- you are more than a conqueror.  Not will be, but you are.

My heart, O God, is steadfast; my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul!  Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
- Psalm 57.7-8

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

xo

on worship // the burn out.

"We were created to worship."  

This is an often-repeated statement that carries heavy weights of purpose and identity - and yet, has lost its context over time.  In fact, it has been so far removed from context, that it caused many of us to adopt a false view of ourselves, as well as a skewed understanding of God.  Because we were "created to worship," we have taken times of worship not just for exaltation, but as a time of intense seeking, pursuing, and finding God.  So at the point that we cannot find Him or He has not spoken, we are left distraught, defeated, and empty.  It feeds an idea that we are failing in our life purpose.  Was I not created to worship?  Then why, in all my pouring out, do I feel unfulfilled?

It is at this point that the common excuse is laid on the table: I feel burnt out.

But the Biblical truth about worship is that it should not burn you out.  Worship ought to leave you refreshed, fulfilled, and restored.  There is no reason why Jesus would contradict Himself, when He beckons us to come to Him to find rest; when "He satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed…" (Ps 103).  So why does worship sometimes feel like a losing battle for some fairy-tale victory?

Innately, every human being is wound up with needing a sense of purpose and destiny.  It is borne into our spirits to discover why we exist and how we can feel fulfilled.  So when we hear it drilled into our Christian sermon cache: "We were created to worship," it turns into the food of our identity.  This is why I was born.  My life should revolve around this.  Unfortunately, the statement does not often come with the Truths that need to pad it.  Here is what I mean:

If you were created to worship, then what does it mean to worship?  Without the Word, the individual can spend a restless time figuring out and defining what worship is.  It can turn downright obsessive, trying to find the right techniques or following the correct formula to usher in the presence of God.  They observe other worship teams, other leaders, try to sing the right songs or pray a certain passionate prayer.  But then, when one cannot find the right methods, or if the presence does not come the way they expect it to - this is what makes the person feel burnt out.  It's what makes the person feel like a failure.  I was born to worship, and I cannot find God.  I am exhausted.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
I Corinthians 13.1

Above being created to worship, we were created to love.

Being created to worship does not infer that He is an insecure God that needs multitudes to boost His ego. It does not mean that God would not exist without us feeding Him our praises.   Therefore, being created to worship does not mean that we need to figure out all the right ways to keep Him alive and happy, lest He kills us.  I know that sounds extreme, but they are underlying lies worded in different forms that hinder us from truly worshipping.  We do not worship because of the ungodly fear of the unknown.  We worship foremost because we love.  We were created to worship, because we were created to love.

A person who worships from a heart of love will always out-run a person who worships because of duty.  Worship becomes a natural response from a heart of love, not a contrived and forced act out of fear.  And that is when worship is born - when we realize that He loves us first.  God created us for fellowship.  He created us for Love.  And we love because HE first loved us.  True worship comes from a place of willingness; out of a response to being loved by God.  If we fully understood that He is constantly chasing after our hearts and yearning for our nearness, drawing closer to us as we draw closer to Him, we would not feel so alone and empty in our worship.

Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.
- Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

up next: Being Sought by God.

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set:

Blessed Be Your Name
None But Jesus
At the Cross

message:
The Presence of God

notes on worship

I promise I will update this particular post to explain why I have a specific section dedicated solely to worship.