Simple Worship
How do you reset your perspective?
Verse of the Day
‘But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.’
Today’s Devotional
The past week has been one of wrestling for me. When I am in a place like this, it’s really important for me to look back over what God has been trying to teach me and look for what I might be missing. Or what I am resisting. I’m wrestling with simplicity, and warring with my emotions (over silly stuff, to be honest), and I am repentant over something the Spirit pointed out to me. I don’t struggle much with grasping money or possessions too tightly, but the Spirit has gently shown me that there is something I grasp with a death grip: my time. Well, friends, time is “of this world” just like money is of this world. God created time as a construct for us to live within, not for us to worship or be slaves to.
As I look back over what we studied this week, the one that stands out above everything is that I need to be wearing the title of “worshiper” above any other title. When I am wrestling – with anything – am I taking the time to worship? When I am doing the mundane, am I also worshiping?
I want to be a worshiper first, before I am a wife, or a mom, or a daughter, or a friend, or a writer. Because if I am a worshiper first, I am better able to wear those other titles in a way that brings glory to God.
In today’s verse, we see that the Father is looking for worshipers. He is anxiously awaiting for us to do what we were created to do. Perhaps as we worship God, and our soul is reaching toward heaven, it allows us to loosen our grasp on anything of this world.
We also looked at our status as adopted children of God. Our status before God is “HIS”. He loves us and is pleased with us before we do or accomplish anything. We have no need to perform for God. We simply must fight against the lies that the world and our brains tell us about not being enough for God to love us.
Then we landed on the topic of honoring the Sabbath. Do we trust God enough to get everything done in six days and give Him one full day each week? Are we willing to obey a command that seems irrelevant? It is so easy to convince ourselves that this rule does not apply to us today. We must remember that Jesus freed us from having to follow the law, which means that the “rules” that remain are for our own good. Do we believe that?
Finally, we looked for some understanding of “What is the Kingdom of God and how do we seek it?” The beauty of this pursuit is that it is lifelong. I believe we will always be uncovering parts of ourselves that are not fully submitted to the rule and reign of God. When we discover those things, do we rationalize and say, “That’s just how I’m wired” or do we invite the Spirit in to lead us closer to Jesus?
This faith journey is such a beautiful, simple, and yet complicated gift. This morning, I had an anxious mind. So I felt a nudge to make a list of things that I am grateful for today. Things about this very day that I am glad about, like my morning coffee and a comfortable chair to sit in for my time with God. The list ended up being pretty long. And guess what? My mind isn’t anxious anymore. Through gratitude, which is a form of worship, my perspective was completely reset. Isn’t God good?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What are you grateful for today?
How can you worship God today?
How has God shown you that you are His regardless of what you do?
How might you practice honoring the Sabbath?
How are you seeking the rule and reign of God?