Partnering with God: Worship

In my previous posts, I talked about revival and some of the disciplines and practices done by those who prepared for them and were a part of leading them. These are disciplines I want to start doing myself to prepare and partner with what God is doing. We started with prayer and then went to fasting, and finally, I would like to talk about worship. Passionate worship is often one of the main expressions of revivals. It is our response to a great and wonderful God! He made everything! And then, even though we decided to reject Him, He came into the world He created to die for us so we could be close to Him again. What kind of a God does that? Even more astounding than that, what kind of a God would then choose to work with such a fickle people as us to move and bring new life to the world? That is our alive and active God, and He is so worthy to be praised!

How does that look in practice? There are many ways in which we can worship God both in our actions and in how we treat each other, but what is so often reported in great moves of God is singing praises to Him! Singing, worshipping, and even dancing can express so much of our love and admiration for the One who saves. Worship is also a way in which we take time to seek God’s face and see Him rightly as we partner with what He is doing. The times when I have felt most connected and alive in Jesus have been through worship! The more I come to know God and know His goodness, the more I want to worship and express all the praise I can!

Worship and expressing my love to God through singing and dancing is something I have done more naturally, as I love music and movement. But I tend to struggle with always having the right feelings and emotions in worship. This can be hard because I know worship is also something that God calls us deeper into and is a process. My good friend Veronica reminded me at one point when I was struggling that “we worship because He is worthy.” That has always stuck with me and is something I want to grow in more. He is worthy! Do I need another reason to dance? He is worthy, do I need another reason to sing? Of course, I should seek to have my heart in the right place, but my worship is not based on emotions – it’s based on His goodness.

Worship is something that I get to regularly participate in with others as I study at a Bible college, but my commitment to worship and seek His face and hear His voice is not based on my current circumstances. I worship because He is worthy, not in order to manipulate my emotions or because I feel like it. He is good, and so I worship. He is Lord and so I give Him praise. He is my best friend and I give Him all I have at the top of my lungs because I love Him!

So, to end off this blog series, my heart is to express that there is so much more for us than we can ever imagine. Revival is not far off or impossible to reach, it comes through the small, faithful steps we take in knowing Him deeper. Everyone meets with God differently, which is such a beautiful part of the Church, but when we seek God to move in and through us it will require intentional acts of faithfulness to God’s call on us. We are not asked to go from making silly smiley faces to exact portraits in a day, it takes time to grow in skill and ability. Likewise, our relationship with God is a journey and process, but He delights in each part with us! The question is, in what ways will I be faithful and seek to know Him better today and in this season of my life? God is on the move in new and exciting ways! Are we moving with Him and partnering with Him as He breathes new life into the Church? I want to be like some of the amazing revivalists across Canada who have said yes to God.