Day 13 – Worship That Pleases God
God wants all of you…
Not part of your life, he wants all your heart, all of you soul, all of your mind and all of your strength. When you worship and how you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship..
There really is a right way and a wrong way to worship. The bible says ” Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that pleases him.” Heb 12:28
Today’s reading reminds us that there are four characteristics of worship that pleases God.
- God is pleased when our worship is accurate
- God is pleased when our worship is authentic
- God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful
- God is pleased when our worship is practical.
Worship that is accurate means that we don’t create an image of God that is one that conforms to our politically correct ideas, adjusted for the kind of God we like to see. Any image of God that we worship that is inaccurate actually is an idol. What is your image of God? Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks.” Worship in truth means to worship as God is revealed in the Bible.
Worship that is authentic is worship that comes from our spirit. God looks past our words and sees our heart. Our goal is to worship with our heart and our minds. It must be genuine and heartfelt. Not just saying the right words, but meaning what we say. Have you ever felt disingenuous before God? Your heart in one place and your mind in another? It pleases God when our heart with all of it’s emotions and feelings are in line with our thoughts. God does not want showmanship, pretense, phoniness and hypocrisy but honest real love. We can worship imperfectly but not insincerely.
There is no “one size fits all” way to worship God. He created us all differently. One way is not right and one way wrong. You can worship God in nature, with music, certain rituals, simplicity and solitude, confronting evil, making the world a better place, loving God by loving and caring for others, celebration, dance, adoration, studying and actively using your unique gifts. God wants you to be yourself!
Thoughtful worship simply means using your mind to worship. Not thoughtless “vain repetitions” of songs, prayers and devotions. Think about what you really want to say to him and say it.
Worship that is practical is worship that incorporates your whole body and being a “living sacrifice.” Worshiping him when you don’t feel like it, when he doesn’t feel close to you and distant, you are tired, had a long day or are experiencing hardships and frustrations, this is a time that practically worshiping him in an unselfish and sacrificial way bring him great pleasure.
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart..
Worship that is