Living a Worshipful Life

A lot can be said about worship. In this brief post my intention is limited to only express some personal reflections on worship and how I strive to live a worshipful life. 

God is worthy of our worship because he is the Creator. So, worship begins with the knowledge of God. The more we know God, the more we love him and the more we grow in awe of him. We appropriately respond in worship. 

When I think of worship the first scripture that comes to mind is the command “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (‭‭Deut. ‭6:5‬). Our Lord, Jesus Christ, tells us that this is the “greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:38) and ”the most important one” (Mark 12:29).  To worship God is to glorify him in all aspects of our lives. We commit ourselves to honor him with all that we are, all that we have and all our influence in the world within the boundaries the Lord has set for us.

Here is what I strive for in leading a life of worship. Besides my devotional routine, there are a couple of scriptures that inform my prayers almost daily. The first one is Philipians 2:3-4. I pray for the Holy Spirit’s help through these verses. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” I have realized that at work the environment provides ample opportunities for my flesh to rise up.

Please, don’t get me wrong! I love what I do for a living and I am grateful for the organization I have the privilege to work for.  But when someone rubs me the wrong way, or throws me under the bus, it is hard for me to respond in a way that glorifies the Lord. So I pray daily for the Spirit’s help in honoring the Lord in my interactions with people, especially when I perceive that they don’t deserve my kindness. 

The second passage is Philipinas 4:8. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In this world where our senses and our minds are being bombarded with all kinds of distorted truths presented as benign, it is a real battle to glorify the Lord with our thinking. So, I pray daily for the Spirit’s help to worship the Lord with my thoughts. 

Finally, I love listening to and singing worship songs. It is rare that I would spend a day without listening to some of my favorites. The go to song for me is this old hymn “How Great Thou Art.” I use the French translation that I grew up singing. The lyrics of this song have always set my heart in proper perspective. 

By doing these things over and over again I hope that I am developing a pattern of life that is worshipful. I encourage you to intentionally consider how to worship the Lord with all that you are, all that you have and all your influence in the world.