It had been weeks of deep discouragement. A feeling of being trapped in my circumstances, with no hope of escape. I was feeling so sad, down, with no energy and no desire just to tackle my day.
Ever been there?
About that time, the radio in my car had been broken and now that it had been fixed, I suddenly realised that I could listen to music. One of my personal playlists is all the gospel songs that have ever spoken into my spiritual life or impacted me. On that day, I started to listen to that playlist.
As I listened to the songs, there were some that caused me to cry as I remembered where I had been and what truth God was saying to me at that time. Some songs reminded me of a lesson I learnt. Some songs reminded me of the journey I had taken and showed me how faithful God had been in my life thus far. The next day I listened to it again. And the day after that.
It was like taking a journey into the past to remember God, His love for me, His faithfulness, His goodness and His grace in my life.
On the third day, I noticed that the discouragement I had been feeling had lifted, and I was feeling better emotionally and spiritually. The condition of my heart had been transformed in the process of worship.
I once heard someone say that “worship is supernatural, it is partaking in heavens language of worship which is happening all the time.”
Worship is indeed supernatural because it has the power to transform our hearts. Worship reminds one of truth and talks to our spirit as we worship God. It is a way of reminding ourselves of the truths we may forget.
Worship is also necessary if we want breakthrough. One just needs to consider the various stories in the Old Testament where worship ushered in the power of God in a situation. Look at the story of Jericho and how the walls came down with a shout of worship.
What is Worship?
To look at how worship transforms us supernaturally let us look at Luke 7:36-50 and contrast the Pharisees and the Woman with the Jar of perfume.
Worship is a natural response to forgiveness and the appropriate consequence of faith. Those who know the depth of sin (and the consequence of sin that they have been saved from) can appreciate the free gift of Christ’s sacrifice. The width of His mercy. The completeness of His forgiveness. This woman understood her forgiveness and responded to Jesus in acts of love. It is not our acts of love that saves us, but our love is a demonstration of our faith. Worship is our response to the wonder of God and what He has done. The Pharisees just saw Jesus as an attendee to a meal.
Worship is a sacrifice. The woman makes a costly sacrifice of tears and perfume, whereas the Pharisees did not even extend to Jesus what was appropriate to a guest. Worship is not just a singing of words, it costs us something. It is a sacrifice. David shows us how it is done in 2 Samuel 24:24 when he says to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’
We tend to offer what is convenient or easy, but it is humbling to give it ALL to Jesus, a living sacrifice filled with devotion, adoration and obedience.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.“ Romans 12:1
Worship is transformational. The woman is transformed, her sins are forgiven. But nothing happens to the Pharisees, they are not transformed. It is supernatural because we are partaking in God, as the woman was partaking in the worship of Jesus. Nothing changed in her circumstances, but her heart and mind was transformed, as I was in my car. I worshipped and I felt changed.
Worship refocuses. There is a saying: “We become what we behold,” meaning that we emulate and take on the characteristics of that which we focus on, admire and look at all the time.
We see this in a negative sense when we behold idols. In Psalm 135:15-18
“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”
In a positive sense we see it is 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Worship refocuses the eyes of our heart on Jesus, so that we are better able to live out our lives in His strength and not ours. He makes it possible for us to rise above our circumstances and still have victory, just as He rose above circumstances on the cross and won victory for all of us. It transforms us into people who reflect the Lord to the world.
Oh Lord, all worship belongs to You, we are made to worship You. When we consider who You are and what You have done in our lives, our response is to worship you. May it be a pleasing sacrifice to your ears, a gift from my heart to Yours. Thank you for how your Spirit encourages and lifts my heart in worship and transforms me in my circumstances. Help me to focus on you. I love you Lord.
When Last Did You Count Your Blessings?
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