Wendy Fisher
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his glory day after day! Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. I Chronicles 16:23-25
At the worship conference we attended last week, Leith Anderson, the senior pastor of Wooddale Church gave a room full of pastors and worship leaders an assignment. “Along with the other people at your table,” he said, “Create a list of every attribute of God you can think of…and then create a list of everything God does—all of his actions past, present and future.” A flurry of activity ensued, words were called out, Bible passages were recited, four or five voices fired off descriptions of our amazing God while Pastor Steve, our recorder, tried breathlessly to keep up. And yet, even after all of that, when our time was up we felt like we had barely scratched the surface.
“Now consider those lists,” Leith continued. “This is a being worthy of worship!”
His point was this: worship is not about us. Worship is about God. Only a being who is perfect, holy, gracious, just, merciful, eternal, faithful, all-powerful, all-knowing, and sovereign (just to name a few) is worthy of worship. Likewise, only a being who has created, made covenants, parted waters, inspired Psalms, healed diseases, withstood temptations, calmed storms, resurrected, and redeemed is worthy of worship. Personally, I doubt any of us qualify. I know I sure don’t.
But still, it is so easy to make worship about us, isn’t it? About how we feel? About what we think? About our agendas? And really this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. After all, this is the human struggle. It has been with us since the beginning and it is with us still: the desire to be our own gods. The desire to be the center of the universe. The desire for control. The desire to eat from any tree we want, forgetting that even our eating is not about us. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31).
Do you come to church on Sundays for the glory of God? Do you sing as one gathered around his throne, throwing down your crown in utter adoration for this the supreme being? Do your prayers abound in praise and supplication to the one who shines light into darkness…even the darkness inside of you? Do you give your offering as if the money is moving directly from your hands to God’s? When Scripture is read, do hear it as a holy transaction between the God of love and your very own soul? And when the message is preached, do you receive it as God’s timeless truths communicated for your here and now? Do your conversations during the fellowship time speak of what God is doing in your life?
Let’s be people of God-centered worship. People who expect him, who wait on him, who glorify him. Let’s be people who truly do “forget about ourselves and concentrate on him and worship him.” Who knows, it might even be a relief. Because, truly, it’s not about us. It’s about the only one who is worthy of worship—the one who draws us into his presence and promises that he will changelessly show up. The only one who deserves center stage. The only wise God, forever and ever. Amen!
