Worship...

My worship to God reflects the state of my relationship with Him. My worship to God is in accordance with my level of intimacy.

Where there is no relationship, there is no worship. Many can sing but not worship. And we can worship without singing.

Worship goes far beyond words. It involves everything we are, our body, soul, and spirit, and when all three are connected to the truth of who God is and our sincere love for Him, then we worship!

Since the beginning of creation, God has sought a relationship with humanity. In Genesis 3, we see that God met with Adam and Eve regularly to talk, and those who had a deep desire to know and honor God worshiped, as in the case of Abel.

When I worship, I recognize how great and beautiful our God is. That recognition has several stages and is determined by how much we allow God to know us as we are, without masks or obstacles. The more we allow ourselves to be known, the more we know God, because He shows us who He is in our weakness and in our dependence on Him.

God has always sought friendship, and my level of friendship with God reflects my level of worship.

Abraham was called God's friend, and it is interesting that he was the first person in the Bible to use the word worship (Gen. 22:5). Friendship and worship are two terms that go hand in hand in the Bible. Jesus himself said that he no longer called us servants but friends.

Returning to Abraham, I wonder if perhaps one of the reasons God waited so long to give Abraham the promised son was to forge in Abraham a true worshipper? Perhaps the waits and difficulties of life are an opportunity to become better friends with God and better worshippers?

If God had given Abraham a son in his early years of marriage, would Abraham have been equally willing to sacrifice Isaac? Would his degree of friendship with God have been the same?

If we think about our walk with God, we will surely see that we have unanswered questions, unfulfilled requests, and unrealized desires. I wonder if all of these are an opportunity to know our God better, to love Him despite everything, and to become true worshipers who are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary for love of God and His will in our lives.

Just as I see the terms friendship and worship as related in the Bible, I also see the terms worship and resurrection as connected.

When Abraham was willing to sacrifice the most precious thing he had, he got a glimpse of what resurrection means. He almost literally got his son back, and his act of obedience was connected to the sacrifice that God Himself would one day make through the death and resurrection of His own Son.

I believe that when we begin the adventure of walking hand in hand with God in an intimate and personal friendship, it will automatically turn us into worshipers, who in time will be invited to die and give up things we love, but in His time God will resurrect them in His own way, and this whole process will forge in us a better worship and a much deeper and more sincere friendship with Him.

My invitation to you and me is to continue this journey of friendship with our beloved God. May we enjoy Him every day and be willing to give up whatever is necessary, trusting that He loves us. If He calls us to give up something in His time and in His way, He will resurrect it.

At the end of the process, we will not be the same. We will be better friends with God!!