From Worry to Worship
“O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9
Do you trust me? I heard the Spirit of God speak to me as I walked briskly up and down the hallways of the hotel where I am staying with five of the ministry’s dogs after the recent hurricane evacuation.
“Yes,” I replied in my heart.
Then why are you worrying? He spoke to my heart.
“Because I need to know the answers!” I said. I have so incredibly much on my mind. I usually do, but this time, so much more.
“If you trust me, why do you need to know the answers?”
“I guess I don’t trust you the way I thought I did,” I replied. Of course I don’t. I already know how much I struggle with trust. I don’t know why I even bothered to say I felt I trusted Him. Who was I fooling anyway?
You continue to look to your circumstances and to search for answers. Instead, I want you to look to me and to place your trust in me. The time you spend worrying, you could spend worshiping me. You could bring me your praise. Instead, you allow yourself to fear. This does not show me the love I desire. I want you to trust me. When you trust me, you show me your love.
Wow. I hurt God’s heart when I don’t trust Him. It’s like telling Him I don’t believe He is who He says He is. Perfectly holy, righteous, true, faithful, honorable, sovereign, perfect Creator, Lord, King, Savior, protector, provider, perfectly everything, perfectly God! Why don’t I trust God at the level I should? Not because He’s not worthy of my trust. He is the only one in the universe perfectly trustworthy. It’s because I take my focus off of Him and His Word and stare instead at the world, my circumstances, and my perfectly fallible, weak flesh, convincing myself I have to figure out the answers, live in my own strength, etc. I forget who He is, in my mind making Him into a pitiful little fallible human whom I can’t trust instead of acknowledging Him as Lord God almighty who is worthy of all love, praise, adoration, honor, and worship forever and ever.
In order to trust me, you need to remember who I am. Focus on my sovereignty.
When I shift my focus from this world and my circumstances to God and His Word, I can’t help but move from worry to worship. For how can I meditate on His awesomeness, beauty, majesty, magnificence, glory, love, might, omnipotence, redemption, salvation, holiness, righteousness, power, sweetness, tenderness, patience, mercy, compassion, kindness, sacrifice, protection, loveliness, omnipresence, and hope, without loving and adoring and worshiping His holy name and bowing down before Him?