What's At The Heart Of Your Worship?

Dear Friends,

Over Easter, my family and I went to a Spring Harvest Family Week.  The people who attend this week come from all kinds of backgrounds and different types of churches.  Yet none of those differences matter when we come together because our desire is to give God our love and worship. The moment we meet for the first evening session in the 'Big Top' there is a sense of oneness and unity.  I particularly enjoyed the worship and praise times with around 3,000 people.  To have that many people lifting their voices in praise to God in one place was a wonderful thing to be a part of, and for me it felt like a foretaste of heaven.  I can't wait to get to heaven and put my name down on the sign-up sheet for choir!  Imagine how much better our worship will be in heaven!

As long as we agree on the essentials when we gather together - such as that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died and rose again and has given us the gift of his Holy Spirit, the small differences, like the way we choose to worship, really shouldn't matter.

During the week, some chose to dance in the aisles, some danced where they stood, some raised their hands or clapped and others sang at the tops of their voices.  It is not our place to judge what is the right or wrong way to worship God. 

I'm reminded of the occasion when David brought the Ark of the Covenant home to Jerusalem.  14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.
16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him...
20 When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”
21 David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord.  2 Samuel 6:14-16, 20-21 (NLT). 

David's worship was between himself and God, it wasn't for Michal, his wife, to judge or criticise the way he chose to worship God.  She was looking at the way it appeared, she didn't see or know his heart.  God saw David's heart, he knew David's motive for worshipping in that way and I believe David brought pleasure to God as he worshipped him.  God says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NLT)

These are things I need to remember when it comes to worship.  Who am I to say what is best and right when it comes to the way someone chooses to worship?  It is not for me to judge or criticise another's choice of worshipping. Their choice is between themselves and God. 

It is far better that I look at my own motives when I worship God.  Am I worshipping in a certain way to be more acceptable to others? Am I worshipping in a particular way because I want to copy them?   To fit in with them?  Or am I worshipping God in a way that springs from a heart full of love for him, with my heart focused on him, not on those around me, and because worship is just bubbling out of me from a grateful heart for who God is and all he has done.  My worship is between God and me, nobody else, he is the one who sees my heart, he is the one who knows the motives of my heart, and when I worship from a heart that's right with him I can bring glory and pleasure to him.

To Think About:
Examine your heart and your motives when worshipping God with others.  What does this show you about yourself?

What do you think could help you to worship God in a more genuine, authentic way?

What is your attitude to those who choose to worship God differently to you?  Does this attitude need to change?

Vicki

 If  what you read was of interest to you, then you may like to know that my book "Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" is available to buy from Amazon. (It's content is material adapted from previous blog posts.) To learn more, click on the link below:

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