“Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis “The Weight of Glory”
What is worship? This is a question that gets tossed around quite a bit, especially in the “worship leader world.” There are many great ways to define it. One in particular that I love states that worship is our response to who God is and all that He has done. I think this is a great definition because it encompasses everything. If one sings songs to worship God, he or she is responding out of a joyful overflow to all that God is and has done. If one sacrifices financially for the kingdom of God, it is a response to all that God is and has done. Any and every act of worship (that falls in line with what the Bible teaches) is a response in some way to God.
I could go on and on, but for this post I wanted to share something particularly important about worship. Worship is ultimately about satisfaction. Now, I do not mean it is about one getting everything he or she wants. I am not referring to a shallow satisfaction. Worship comes from a deep quenching in our souls. God is the all-satisfying God that satisfies far more than anything anyone has ever experienced. “Taste and see that the Lord is go0d” (Psalm 34:8). We were created to infinitely enjoy God. Worship is about our happiness, our satisfaction, our overflowing joy in all that God is. I love the verse in Psalm 63 verse 3. “Because Your love is better than life, my lips will praise You.” Worship is all about God, but the great thing is that our worship is best when we enjoy God the most. When our hearts overflow with love and affection for our Savior, it glorifies Him. God is not looking for people that feel obligated to serve Him. ”The Father is seeking such people to Him…worship in spirit and truth.” He wants people that are so filled up with who He is that it consumes every moment of their lives.
Oh, that we would quit fooling around with such simple pleasures. There is an infinitely better gift offered to us, but so many times we choose to “make mud pies” and miss out on it. It’strue that God does not think we are too hard to satisfy,but rather we are too easily satisfied. It doesn’t take much at all to quench our shallow souls sometimes. Things like TV’s, sports, relationships, and anything else that is not Jesus fill up our lives and leave us temporarily “full.” God has been challenging me personally, and hopefully others, that it is time to get back to the source of our satisfaction, to get back to worshipping God like He deserves. The greatest commandment ever given was to love God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. God’s greatest desire for our lives is that we would be completely, primarily, and eternally satisfied in Him. The promise is true for all those who believe. If you taste God, you will see that He is good. If you open wide your mouth, He will fill it. There is so much more to worship than songs and services. Worshipping is so much more than buildings and doctrines. May our hearts beat for the One who makes them beat. May our lips praise the One who gives us breath. May our lives be consumed by the all-consuming fire.
-Chris
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic with us. I have often meditated on John 4:23 & 24 in order to try and get the full meaning and understanding of “worship in spirit and in truth” and your insight as you wrote here has given me additional understanding of that scripture. I appreciate you for your insight and for encouraging us to seek a deeper relationship with God. You are an awesome example for us to follow. I enjoyed this post. Keep em coming!