“Bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me praise his holy name.”
Why do we worship? There are so many reasons since we, as creatures, were created to worship. But what I’m thinking about today is how worship changes our perspective. Living smack dab in a culture that gets a lot wrong, it’s easy for the prevailing fashions of thought to make their subtle inroads into our thinking. When we worship, we get back to true north by reminding ourselves of who God is.
Visualize Joe Christian walking into church on a Sunday morning. Maybe he just had an argument with his wife or maybe he’s obsessing about finances. He might even be afraid to approach God because of some persistent sin. In short, it’s all about him! When he begins to worship, the crustiness of self
breaks off, and he starts to see the real reason why he’s here on earth. He remembers that the world is spinning and the sun is shining because God is so GOOD! As he proclaims in song the truth about God, an interesting thing happens. His heart that was the size of a shriveled raisin starts to expand. He realizes that he belongs to this God and has every right to jump for joy.
I work at a mental health agency where we not only deal with many challenging clients but sometimes complex procedural and financial issues too. At staff meeting each week the “first order of business” is worship. Before we know it, God’s presence wafts in, and dynamics start to change. Sometimes we get creative ideas about how to solve problems. At the very least, we feel refreshed and stop complaining because in the atmosphere of worship, things change, we change. We’ve become part of a vast company of saints and angels fulfilling their eternal destiny to honor the only One worthy of worship.
Talk about a shift in perspective!