Engaged Worship

As a disciple of Jesus my life should be a response to His work (what He has done and is doing) of creation, sustenance, rebirth, enlightenment, salvation, and sanctification. How I respond to God IS WORSHIP – that is what tells the world how valuable He is. This is how we worship – how we declare declares His worth. Of course, that’s far more than just singing a song – in fact, it is possible to worship God and NEVER SING, but as a people who – in order to fully experience a truth need to LIVE it – singing/making music to the Lord is also for our benefit. It doesn’t ‘usher’ in God – he’s omnipresent, and – for believers- already present by his Spirit on the inside…but it does change us, letting us experience – & making us more aware of the experience of – His Spirit in our midst.

Here are a few Biblical guidelines for what singing to God can look like:

Isaiah 29:23 – “(they) will stand in awe of the God of Israel”
Psalm 9:2 – “I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
Psalm 71:23 – “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.”
2 Samuel 7:18 – “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?’”
Psalm 47:1 – “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
Exodus 34:8 – “…Moses quickly bowed his head towards the earth and worshiped.”
Psalm 5:3 – “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for (or direct my prayer to) you and watch.”
Matthew 26:39 – “And going a little farther he (Jesus) fell on his face and prayed…”
Psalm 149:3 – “Let them praise His name with dancing, making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre!”

That’s just a sampling, but it shows one thing: worshiping God is multi-facetted, yet engaged. It may look different – even among the same congregation – from week to week. Sometimes people may be moved to rejoice – dancing & singing in celebration, but there will be times where sitting, just waiting on God’s move, or even falling face down on the ground. There are even seasons of worship – excitement builds and wanes, but as people continue to serve God, even when their ‘experience’ of God may seem exciting, it may still be an act of worship, as long as their hearts always long to move beyond those times to something deeper. But as long as we are here, it will never be a perfect experience – or ultimately fulfilling: those rare ecstatic times of worship are merely a fore-taste of what it may be like to be face-to-face with Jesus one day, bowing down and crying, “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Come, Lord Jesus – so be it!