The Faces of Worship

I've been thinking a lot about worship lately.  What does it really look like?  And, is there more than one way to worship?  I believe the answer to that is absolutely, YES.  But, what I mean by worship isn't the picture that most of you have in your head right now.  The word "worship" normally implies that some type of music is involved.  We go to church to...sing hymns or praise songs, right?  While that is a part of the church experience, it isn't meant to be the whole experience.  And, worship certainly isn't meant to stay inside the four walls of the "church."

I went through a season as a young Christian where I majorly struggled with the way my worship "looked."  Sounds strange, I know.  What I mean is that I would be standing during service singing my heart out, except, I didn't feel like my heart was truly there.  I would look around and it seemed as though everyone else was totally engrossed in the music.  If they were any more in the presence of Jesus, they might as well have been in heaven!  And here I was, mouthing the words but not always feeling what was coming out.  I thought something was truly wrong with me!  Ever been there?  Well, I've since had to learn that worship isn't a "feeling." Sure, we can definitely experience that high at times when we come into the presence of the Lord, BUT it doesn't always happen, and that's completely normal.  Those feelings don't sustain our day to day walk with God.  They're wonderful, but they're not meant to last.  Worship is so much more than singing to the Lord on Sunday...or any other day of the week, for that matter.  It's what our lives look like when people are watching, and...when they aren't.  It is about the heart...the attitude of our hearts.  We may not always "feel" it, but if we are doing what God asks & requires on a daily basis, that is worship.  Will we get it wrong?  Yep.  Will we completely blow it?  Probably.  Is there grace for that?  Absolutely. 

When I think of the stories in the Bible of people who were on this same journey with God, I begin to think of worship a little differently.  I read about Abraham being willing to sacrafice his only son that God PROMISED him (Genesis 22:1-19), and I see worship as surrender.  Then, I read about the widow who had nothing, but still gave what she had (Mark 12:41-43), and I see worship as giving.  I read the many parables that Jesus told about putting others before ourselves, and I see worship as loving people.  Worship looks different than what we have imagined in our minds.  It has many "faces."  It isn't JUST about singing a few songs on Sunday morning.  It's really living out the words that Jesus taught & modeled for us.  I want my worship to encompass all of these things, and more.  And for my heart to be engrossed daily in how I live, not just in what I say.  That is true worship.