thursday
AUGUST 4
As Christians, it is important to keep our worship focused on God, to approach Him humbly and repentantly, rather than viewing worship as a means of achieving emotional elation. Joy is a vital part of our worship experience, but it should be a joy that comes from a thoughtful relationship with God, rather than from a purely emotional peak. Much of modern worship seems based on emotion. Such worship can easily become self-centered, lacking in repentance and humility.
When David approached God after his sin with Bathsheba, he put his selfish desires away. Amid his guilt and shame, he found his true “hiding place” (Ps. 32:7), not the hiding place of selfish desires and self-deception. After God instructs and teaches him, he finds again the steadfast love that surrounds those “who trust the Lord” (Ps. 32:10). Then David shouts for joy. No emotion-based worship could ever achieve this.
Also written after David’s sin with Bathsheba, Psalm 51 has long been a “home” for Christians seeking assurance of salvation. The fallen monarch cries out in brokenness and guilt to the Majesty of heaven. David’s adulterous, murderous sin was completely about self-gratification. But this psalm is all about God and is based on a reason-centered understanding of true worship. Restored in the image of God, David finds true deliverance, praise, pleasure, and delight.
As we focus on God, on His power, grace, and love, rather than on ourselves, our worship of Him and the joy we find in that worship will grow and strengthen. Such is the fruit of true worship.
Also written after David’s sin with Bathsheba, Psalm 51 has long been a “home” for Christians seeking assurance of salvation. The fallen monarch cries out in brokenness and guilt to the Majesty of heaven. David’s adulterous, murderous sin was completely about self-gratification. But this psalm is all about God and is based on a reason-centered understanding of true worship. Restored in the image of God, David finds true deliverance, praise, pleasure, and delight.
As we focus on God, on His power, grace, and love, rather than on ourselves, our worship of Him and the joy we find in that worship will grow and strengthen. Such is the fruit of true worship.
REACT1. How can we use the Bible to guide us into a joy-filled, reason-based worship with God?
2. How can we remain focused on the true reasons for worship in a world that values the hype of emotion-based worship?
Written by Hannah Hogg, Pleasant Hills, New South Wales, Australia
2. How can we remain focused on the true reasons for worship in a world that values the hype of emotion-based worship?
Written by Hannah Hogg, Pleasant Hills, New South Wales, Australia
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