I was on my knees the other day about to enter a time of worship, and it hit me: This is so unreasonable! It makes no sense to this human brain of mine that I should be able to do this!
What’s so unreasonable?
1. It’s unreasonable that a holy, Almighty God would allow lowly me in His presence. Because . . .
“For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD, a God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him? O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?” (Psalm 89:6-8a).
Except . . .
“But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You” (Psalm 5:7).
“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You, To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple” (Psalm 65:4).
2. It’s unreasonable that God would want to commune with me here. Because . . .
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).
Except . . .
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17).
“ . . . the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him” (2 Chronicles 15:2).
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
3. It’s unreasonable that God would choose to reveal Himself to me. Because . . .
Just as John said of Jesus, “. . . the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie” (Acts 13:25).
Except . . .
“This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).
“Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 40:5).
4. It’s unreasonable to think that I could have anything worthy to offer my God in worship. Because . . .
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
Except . . .
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Do you see how everything that gives us the privilege to come before our God in worship is
so unreasonable – from a mere human perspective?
God’s love is unreasonable. His forgiveness is unreasonable. His grace and faithfulness are unreasonable.
Except that they are the truest things in our lives.
Except that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins for no other reason than His unfathomable love would have it no other way.
So that we could worship Him. It’s His plan.
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
May we never forget how unreasonable it is that we are allowed to worship at the throne of the Creator God of the universe. And may we never forget the only reason why the privilege is ours. Jesus.
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps.115:1).
What do you find the most unreasonable about worship?
If you enjoyed this post, please SHARE it with others. (Share buttons are below.) I’d love to hear what you think, too!
SUBSCRIBE to my Worship and the Word blog so you don’t miss out on any new posts!
AND receive “4 Keys to Intimate Sunday Morning Worship” for FREE!
Worship Leader Magazine awarded Worship and the Word as one of the “Best of 2014” books!