Human Thought for Heavenly Worship

“What’s God done for you? After what you’ve been through, how can you still praise him?” I have heard that question so many times from my non-believing friends since the time that my mom died. They all believe that since this God of mine took my mother away while I was only 15 that I should hate Him for it. They believe that I should have turned my back on Him when He allowed me to watch the cancer slowly desolate her. It showed me their faulty knowledge of my God, and it also made me think, why do I worship? What’s the point? It even made me doubt for a time as I wrestled with that question and my anger at Him. Even through this time however, I never turned away from Him, even though at times I wasn’t sure why. Now however, I know that there are so many reasons to, and my human mind will never exhaust all of the reasons to.

                 So why worship?

                 Because I am nothing and He is everything.

                 As someone who has dealt with depression and even attempted suicide, I know what it’s like to come to the end of myself, to see myself as utterly despondent and needy and having seemly no reason to continue on. However, even though I tried to end it, God didn’t let me. I woke up. I have realized that I am worthless; nothing, especially in comparison to an almighty, perfect and matchless God. Yet He gives me worth. He has loved me, a nothing, so much that He redeemed me and gave my life through His son.

                 Because He is our Creator.

                 How many times have I found myself worshipping the created things, and yet not taking the time to worship the Creator of those things? He didn’t just create a monotone world with very little. He created a world of color and beauty. He has given us everything we could ever need and so much more and that alone is a reason to bow before Him.

                 Because He desires a relationship with us.

                 God didn’t just create us and leave us to fend for ourselves; He wants us to know Him. He has given us the Word to reveal Himself, and even in that, given us His personal name, Yahweh, to call Him by. He is not some far off deity that many cultures worship and He does not need to be manipulated. He allows us to come before Him in confidence and to talk to Him openly. Through Christ, we are allowed to stand boldly before God in a way that we could have never before and that is amazing.

                 Because He never changes, He never has and He never will.

                 This particular reason became quite clear to me soon after my mom died. My life will change, and so will my heart, but God will not. He is consistent and because He never changes, neither will what He says. He isn’t an indecisive being and He does not change His mind. My mother dying did not change who God was. His taking of her did not make Him less trustworthy or less powerful. It did not make Him a villain or someone that was worthy of my hatred. It did not make Him anything less than what He had been before.

                 Because God is powerful, all-knowing and all-wise.

                 God is capable of anything. He has the power to bring about any disaster or any miracle. He also has knowledge greater than the universe and He knows how to use it. There is never any doubting in God’s mind and nothing ever surprises Him. The only questions he asks are the ones to make us search ourselves.

                 Because God is good.

                 This one ties in with the last point quite a bit. If the all-powerful, all-knowing and all-wise God is also good than we need to trust Him. He doesn’t sit on His heavenly throne, wringing his proverbial hands and wondering what He is going to do in some situations. He is never out of control. Therefore, when he allows difficulties into our lives, we need to believe that He is bringing things about for His purposes. It isn’t easy to believe this in the moment, but looking back in life, God always has a plan. We may not see it this side of life, but that’s why we need to trust that in His eternal self, He has things under control.

                 So why worship?

                 The ultimately reason to worship God is this; because God is God. He is the great I AM. He is everything when we are nothing. He is higher than anything our finite minds can conjure up and He will always be that. He has always existed and will never die. He is infinite, we are finite. He is holy, we are sinners. He is good, we are evil. He is everything that we are not and that alone is reason enough to worship.                                                               

                 

God Plus.. What?

So, as I’ve continued my studies at New Tribes, I’ve found myself learning so much in my classes; God’s faithfulness, judgment, mercy and so many other things. However, many of the hardest personal lessons I’ve come to learn aren’t learned in class. Sure, they may be brought up by a piece of class or a chapel lesson, but they only hit me when I’m sitting on my own, in silence before my LORD.

Something that I’ve found myself struggling with is trust. I’m willing to do what God says, if He shows me where He’s directing me. I’m willing to go the distance, as long as He makes it clear how He will provide for me in that. I will follow in His footsteps if…

And that’s where He’s been hitting me lately, right in the if.

In chapel, one of our teachers read a simple quote, God plus nothing. At first, I nodded to it, without even applying it to myself. Pretty much, my thought line was, that sounds great. God plus nothing. Why not?

And that’s when He drew my attention. I realized that I don’t truly follow that statement. For me it’s always God plus… It’s God plus safety, God plus provision, God plus people, God plus reassurance… God plus something.

I don’t trust Him enough to put my trust in Him alone.

I may be going in the direction that He has been showing me for my life, but it’s always with those thoughts in the back of my minds. It’s always needing a second opinion about what He’s showing me. I can’t seem to do anything without something extra besides God. My sight is always on the how of getting things done, and not the Who that holds those things, and the whole world, in His hands.

Proverbs 16:3 tells us, Commit your work to the LORD and your plans will be established. If we commit what we do to God, then He will mold our plans into His own, and He always brings about what is best ultimately. That might not mean safety or ease. It could mean disappointment and discouragement. However, God knows the future and He knows what will happen. I need to trust Him in that.

If He shows me a path that seems difficult, my first response needs to not be, how am I going to conquer this? It should be, God’s got this. I’m going to fix my eyes on Him and trust Him.

I don’t want to be like Peter, who took his eyes of Jesus on the water. He let the fear of what he was doing overtake him and looked away from his Savior. That’s when he sank.

Life isn’t about fear. It’s not God plus the waves or God plus the storm. I can’t let the if I’ve leaned on so long to be the factor that controls me when I find myself climbing up a mountain that seems too steep for me. Instead of focusing on the mountain, I want to fixate on my Savior.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

If God has me doing something, then He will make me capable or it. It’s not me that makes it possible or other people’s opinions that matter. It’s simply Him that is what needs to be relied on.

God plus nothing.