What do you think of when you hear the word worship?
I think for most of us (myself included), that word has been incredibly watered down. We tend to think of it as genre of music, or emotional moments while singing at church. Or maybe we even say with our mouths that we want our lives to worship the Lord, but we actually have no idea what that means practically.
What if I told you that the biblical definition of worship wasn’t at all about emotional moments of singing? What if I told you that singing absolutely can be worshipful, but that the word worship encompasses SO much more than that?
Well, true worship is one of the things that the Lord has been teaching me about recently.
Side note: In case you haven’t noticed, I am just going to be real; these blogs are going to be far more about what the Lord is teaching me than how I am doing… SHOCKING, I know! And yes, that “shocking” is oozing with sarcasm 🙂
Anyways, God recently revealed a much more complete understanding of worship to me, through Genesis 22. It is the story of Abraham getting called to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Yahweh tells Abraham to take Isaac up a mountain and sacrifice him. Abraham is supposed to go slaughter/murder his only son on top of a mountain… the son he waited decades for… the son that was the very vessel to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham is supposed to go kill the most precious thing to him in the entire world.
And do you know what Abraham does? He turns to his servants (verse 5) and tells them to wait while he and Isaac go “worship” on the mountain.
This is the first place in all of scripture that the word “worship” is used. It is the Hebrew word “shachah” and it goes on to be used over 100 times in the old testament.
The very first time this word is defined biblically it is not tied to an emotional moment of singing… it is tied to EXTREME sacrifice. Worship isn’t defined by a genre of music but by laying down the things that are most important to us when God asks for them… and ultimately, laying our lives themselves down.
The story goes on… Abraham and Isaac make it to the top of the mountain and set up the altar. Abraham grabs his knife and is seconds away from killing Isaac… but then God calls out and stops him. A ram is caught in the bushes, and that ram serves and the replacement for Isaac.
That mountain was named Moriah which means seen by God. However, about 2000 years later, a very similar story takes place. A Father rides His Son in on a donkey. That Son marches up the same exact mountain. The mountain is renamed Golgotha. Except this time, there is no ram caught in the bushes. This time there is no substitution for the Son. This time the Son is slaughtered and sacrificed for the sake of all humanity.
It is widely believed that this same mountain that Abraham took Isaac up is the place where Jesus was crucified on our behalf.
But, my point in this is to encourage you to WORSHIP. Not just in song, but with your life. My prayer for myself is that I would be a man who simply says yes when the Lord speaks, no matter what He says. My prayer is that I would be willing to sacrifice whatever the Lord calls me to lay down… time, money, talents, relationships, comfort, reputation, plans, etc.
And lastly, I want to challenge you in the area that we typically view as worship… singing. I challenge you to truly consider what you are singing, and Who you are singing to. My encouragement to you is to not just sing hollowly. My encouragement to you is to let your singing be worshipful by laying down your perceptions for His. When you sing about His goodness, the truth of that isn’t dependent on your seen perception of it. When you sing about His holiness, that truth isn’t dependent on your understanding. When you sing and ask Him to take you deeper, that truth isn’t tied to your comfort or your timing. My challenge for you is to sing truth and respond to His voice, regardless of where He calls you. Worship is not getting an emotional high. Worship is laying down the things that we cling to so closely and try to control.
For example: Here is a song that I have had on repeat lately! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Ts-9ZWY50
What would it look like to genuinely consider these words?
“I just wanna move Your heart; it’s all I wanna do. I just wanna stand in awe and pour my love on You. No matter how much the cost, I freely give it all to You.
I just wanna move Your heart; get caught within Your gaze. Right here in Your presence, God, is where I wanna stay. Oh to just dwell in Your house and waste my days on You.
So is it a fragrance? Then I’ll pour my oil out. Is it a life laid down? Then here I give my vows. Is it a song I sing? Then here’s every melody. Just tell me what moves You. Tell me what moves You.
CUZ I LIVE TO MOVE YOU.”
Those words are not light! Those words are a crying out for the Lord to strip you of ALL control… to literally “waste” your life in the eyes of what the world screams as being important… and to do so simply because He is worth it.
May we be a people who WORSHIP! It is the very thing we were created for!
