I haven’t been on Periscope much yet, but I think the little hearts that pour out from viewers while someone is “scoping” is pretty hilarious. (For those further behind the times than me, Periscope is a live video streaming app that allows viewers to tap their mobile screen to send up to 500 multi-colored hearts to show their love, approval, or appreciation to the live “scoper”.) It’s enough to make you want to scope just to feel the love!
Worship is believers pounding the walls of heaven with our love and appreciation to God. It’s never passively hearing and repeating words of truth about God sans an engaged heart. It involves adoration – our heart’s response of love and devotion in worship to our mind and voice’s proclamation of the truth of who God is. (Read that again – slowly.) It’s a very important part of our worship experience. (And wouldn’t it be something if we could see those little hearts floating up! Or maybe the absence of them at times would be a little too revealing?)
I’ve been enjoying Beth Moore’s new book, Audacious, and in it she says,
“The person you are when you love Jesus with everything in you – with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength – is the real you. The brilliant you. The bring-it you. The breathtaking you. The born-for-this you. . . . When your heart, your soul, your mind, and might are engaged in a wholly invasive holy affection, march yourself into the nearest bathroom and look in the mirror over the sink. That’s you.”*
I love that! And applying it to worship, we need to grasp the fact that when it comes to loving and worshiping Jesus, friend, we’re “born for this”! Saved for this! (Philippians 2:9-11) And our soul needs to respond, “I’ll bring it!” I’ll dive head-first into seeking and knowing God and engaging my whole heart in worship to Him. Adoration!
David sure did adore God. Here’s David’s adoring response to God at a very difficult time in his life:
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:1-5).
**God isn’t just some mighty but distant God to David. God is his God. ‘You are my God,’ he exclaimed. He was basically saying, ‘Not only have I seen Your power and glory, and tasted Your lovingkindness, but You are mine. And what You have to offer me is far better than all of life. I will praise You forever.’
David adored God. Oh, how we should each pray that our hearts would be open and free to respond to our loving God with adoring worship!”**
Not feeling it? Get in His word. Ask Him for help. Respond to His nudges to deal with sin. Go outside and look at the sky. (After all, He sure shows off for us!)
Do whatever it takes to envelope yourself with who He is for you right now this very minute! And then pound the walls of heaven with love for that magnificent God.
Because you were born for this. Saved for this.
You were created to adore your God!
*Beth Moore, Audacious, (B&J Publishing Group), p.28
**My book, Worship and the Word, p.54
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