A few days ago, I woke up intentionally early and went to my church office and sat down at my desk. It was about 4:45am, and I had a “to-do” list about a mile long that had to get done before the end of my day. I looked at the list and laughed to myself, realizing that I was going to have a hectic day.
I took out a red marker, and at the top of the list, I put the words “worship God with all that I am”.
With six words written on a pad of paper, my day had drastically changed! I made a decision that no matter how busy my day was or how stressed I got, I was going to worship God, taking joy in the small things that He allowed me to see and hear today. Since the time that I wrote those words down, I have noticed a few things that I normally would have glanced over. For instance…
I saw some seagulls that had beautiful white chest feathers.
I noticed that that Bellingham Bay (near where I live) looked really, really blue today.
I noticed that one of our ministry assistants, made an effort to greet me with a big smile this morning, and I took about five minutes to speak with her, ask her how her life was, how her family is, and got to know her better.
As I made a plot for the stage for this weekend’s services, instead of just putting things in their place on paper, I stood in each person’s place on the stage, and I prayed over their part in the service.
I took joy in smiling and making funny faces at a baby boy in a stroller inside the shop where I got my coffee.
Though these things that I just listed don’t normally cause me to think about worshipping my Creator, they did today. Seeing a few seagulls made me think about the artistry of creation. The color of Bellingham Bay made me think of the way the Spirit of God was “hovering over the waters” in the beginning of the world (Gen. 1:2). Seeing a smile reminded me of how God uses other to encourage me, and how I should encourage others (Eph.4:29). Praying for our worship team reminded me that I need to pray more often (I Thes. 5:16-18). Watching the baby boy at a coffee shop reminded me that God has been with me since the time I was in mother’s womb (Jer. 1:5).
I have discovered that God doesn’t need me to “get away from it all” to find Him, because He is already where I am.
I am having a great day of worship.
Tags: Personal Worship, Worship
What a great revelation. I strongly believe that when we slow down and allow God to open our eyes, our whole perspective is altered. Over the last year, I have begun finding great joy in simple things. They are easily overlookable, but with an attitude of thanksgiving, they bring such a sparkle and wonder that often leaves me with my jaw dropped, wondering how I could be so blessed.
God has so much to show us when we live “in” the moment in time He has given us, rather than just moving through it. It is something I struggle with and relearn constantly, and it is where we most often can find real meaning in our relationship with the Lord, and enter into true worship. Thanks for reminding me to relearn that lesson today brother…
Hi Sam. I’m teaching a class at the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop in a couple weeks called “Worship in the Routine”. I have a bunch of material but could I quote some of this from you?
Gary,
Please do!
Great stuff here. Inspiring to my week for sure.
Thanks Sam. That’s a really encouraging word for me.