Worship

“Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care.” (Psalm 95:6-7 HCSB)

Worship is a central to our faith. It is a daily, weekly practice we go through that is the spiritual expression of the deepest thoughts and feelings of our souls. Have you ever wondered why we do this as we do?

One reason we worship God is because of His identity. He is the Lord. That means He is sovereign. He is our Maker. He is the Creator of all things, and we are ourselves created in His image. As our Maker, we owe Him everything we have and everything we are. So we worship. We bow down before Him. He is the holy, almighty, awesome God. We kneel before Him because of who He is.

Another reason we worship God so much is because of our need. We are the people of God’s “pasture.” You’ve seen pasture. Mostly we envision scenes of lush green grass on rolling hills, with white sheep dotting the landscape. The pastures in Israel are not exactly like that, however. Mostly they are pretty rugged and rocky with patches of grass and other edible plants. Shepherds work to find pasture land for their sheep. That is because they care for the sheep and want to provide for them. In case you are not aware, shepherds are rugged individuals. Remember that David once killed a lion with his bare hands, and at another time killed a bear with his bare hands. These are strong, rugged, hardy individuals who use their strength to provide. We are under the care of our God. We trust Him. And we need Him. Thus, it is because of our need that we are constantly turning to God.

Worship that is true and genuine is never just a matter of form. We do not worship because it is some kind of requirement. We do not develop worship services so that we can have something to do. We do this because it is an essential expression of heart and soul. Something within us knows that we cannot be complete apart from worship. Through worship we respond to and glorify our God.

Lord, May our worship always be true and genuine and acceptable in Your sight. Amen.