(37) The Heart of Worship is Reverent & Submissive

(Note: This is part of a continuing series of posts on The Heart of Worship & Psalm 95)

Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture.

and the sheep of His hand.

(Psalm 95:6-7)

There is a time for exuberant, expressive, loud shouts of joy. There is also a time for humble, quiet, sober, and meditative worship. One style or expression of worship is not necessarily more reverent than another. Genuine worship includes both shouts of joy and tears of gratitude, unworthiness, and repentance. But whatever the tone, the attitude must be one of reverence.

Genuine worship is never done casually or lightly! It will always be done with a sense of somber recognition that our worship is received or rejected by a God who “searches the secret motives of the heart (Jer. 17:9)”

Reverence for God will then be demonstrated in submission to His will in my life. The heart of worship recognizes and affirms that God alone is the rightful owner of my very life. We are His sheep and live in His pasture.

And, we are the sheep of His hand. This means we are dependant on Him for life but it also means that we follow His lead. He is the shepherd who gives us direction. He is the sovereign God whose plan we pursue and embrace. When we truly have a deep reverence for the glory of God it will be demonstrated by our submission to His will and sovereign control of our lives.

Worship of God’s glory isn’t just a matter or what we say with our lips. It is also a matter of our thinking, attitudes, plans, and choices in life. Our decision making, goal setting, and choices say a lot about who’s running our lives . . . and who we really reverence. Whenever I allow my choices and actions to be controlled by something or someone other than God, including myself, I am stealing from God the reverence and control that He deserves. And, I am also stealing the worship He alone deserves as the sovereign God of creation.

Declaring the goodness, greatness, and glory of God with my lips while in my head I am devising plans to suit my goals is an inconsistency. If I claim to revere God as the all wise God who’s ways are perfect and yet, I follow my wisdom and plans, I am really deceiving myself. I am worshiping myself, not God.

So, who’s running your life . . . who are you really worshiping?
 
 Soli Deo Gloria

Next:  (38)  The Heart of Worship is Teachable