Sunday September 16, 2007 | Greg Boyd
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship.
To worship God is to reflect back to God how much he is worth to us. Our lives are an act of worship, including special times where we individually and corporately worship God. As we participate in worshipping the source of all life, love and beauty, we in turn are changed and transformed.
To worship God is to reflect back to God how much he is worth to us. Our lives are an act of worship, including special times where we individually and corporately worship God. As we participate in worshiping the source of all life, love and beauty, we in turn are changed and transformed.
Because God is worthy of all of our worship and praise, worship must be passionate and sincere. “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name” (Psalm 103:1). With all of hearts we worship the Lord (Psalm 111:1; Isaiah 29:13) and give God our very best.
Worship also involves commitment and sacrifice. Regardless of circumstances and feelings, we give God praise (Psalm 57:6-9; Hebrews 13:15). We may not always feel like it or may even be experiencing pain and hurt in our lives. That is when we need to worship all the more, and give everything in our innermost being to Him.
Worship brings us into God’s presence (Psalm 100:1-2; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14). It is in these moments that we lay aside all of the cares and concerns in our lives and solely focus on God. As we worship and give thanks and praise to God, everything that seemed important or concerning seems infinitely smaller as God becomes the focus. Worshiping God re-focuses our lives and reminds us of what’s really important.
Through worship, God lifts up our hearts and gives us hope and encouragement (Psalm 27:4, 6). He gives us strength and hope to handle the daily and weekly cares and concerns. In worship, we are also transformed. Things of the head become realities in our experience. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Worship is also an act of Spiritual Warfare. Our enemies are not flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. It is through the simplicity of worship that we silence their activity and create a fortress against them (Psalm 8:2). Praise is also like lighting a light in a dark room. As we give praise to God, we are inviting God into the darkest places in our lives and allowing the light of God’s love to transform.