Pathway to Worship

Pathway to Worship

Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9-17

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:11 NLT)

What does it mean to worship? How do I know when I am offering true worship? Does God really need my worship? Is there a right and wrong way to worship? These and other questions flood my mind as I contemplate the pathway to worship.

     Worship in its simplest form is assigning value to someone or something. When a person considers something valuable he or she will devote time, energy, material resources, and affection to that person or object. I’m that way with fishing and hunting. Some of my most meaningful times of worship have come while sitting in a boat on a quiet lake, or sitting in a tree stand waiting for the break of day.

     Everyone in the world is a worshiper of a person or thing. There is an inborn desire to reach out to worship something beyond ourselves. We all have relationships or objects that we consider valuable, and usually one person or object holds supreme worth. It is not a question of or if a person will worship; rather it’s who or what we will worship.

     The Bible declares that God is the one who deserves our worship. “You are worthy, O Lord our God to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created (Rev. 4:11 NLT).

     It might surprise you to find out that God does not need your worship. He is complete, independent, and self-sufficient. He is perfect and lacking nothing. The heavens themselves shout the glory of God (Ps. 19:1) and angels shout holy, holy, holy twenty-four hours a day as they surround his throne (Rev. 4:8). Failing to worship God leads to a sense of un-fulfillment and emptiness. St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

     Why do we worship our Creator God? What does worship provide? Worship brings to the forefront the presence of God. Regardless of your posture, worship recognizes the nearness of God. It should be a time of celebration, joy, gratitude, and reverence.

     The next time you enter into worship do so with anticipation, excitement, praise, and gratitude for all that your “God has done for you. Thank him for sending his son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for your sins. It is the pathway to true worship.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to express the joy of my salvation in worshipful praise all day long.