In a discussion today, someone challenged a group of us and asked why we want "all of this media" in a worship service and said we shouldn't need it. I'll leave that discussion for another day, but I have to admit it got me thinking about worship at church and how it affects our daily worship as individual followers of Christ. Of course, as a worship leader, the goal is always to enter corporate worship and openly lay myself at the feet of Christ, inviting & encouraging others to join me. The hope in this is 2 fold; 1) that other followers of Christ will have the same opportunity to pour themselves out before God & be lost in the presence of the all consuming Sovereign Lord; and 2) that those who don't know Him or walk closely with Him will see the pure love & adoration pouring out and get a glimpse of the Great I Am.
So...here's the question...do we become dependent on these things (i.e. lighting, music, media) to enhance our worship to the point that we have handicapped ourselves and others and made it more difficult to worship as individuals in a daily lifestyle where these "enhancements" are not surrounding us and we have to put forth the effort to pursue Him on our own? In doing so, what are we missing out on?
A friend of mine posted this on her facebook wall this week:
"If what He shows me today gets anymore beautiful I will fall on my face and cry like a baby. Until now I have only experienced God knee deep. I just fell in head first and am drowning in his love and grace."
What a beautiful expression of who God is..when I read this, it truly made me stop and think...even though I am pursuing Him, I still get caught up in stuff and forget the pure beauty of who He is. When we choose to live "drowning in His love and grace", worship is a natural part of our lives...but it does take time and discipline to live this way - it takes a life of pursuit.
I'm sure you've already figured out that I like challenges - challenges make us reach higher and grow. James 1:2-4 tells us that, " when you meet trials produces steadfastness. Count it all joy, my brothers, of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faithAnd let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
So, my challenge for this week is to find a way to worship your Lord & Savior this week that does not include music, church, or media; but find a way that will be a result of be lost in who He is and all that He is. Go a little deeper this week...just enough to get that glimpse that does make you want to fall on your face & cry in utter and complete awe. If you do, I bet you find yourself worshipping Him by simply loving someone in your life who may be difficult to love, or treating your spouse differently simply because God commands you to do so, or giving to someone in need because you are filled with a compassion from above - remember that these can all be acts of worship...the quote from my friend is one of the best examples of worship I have ever seen...that's what it's all about.
Will you do something about it this week? Will you go deeper or stay in the water at your ankles?
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