Worship.

I don’t know that I’ve talked about it very much on here, but I think that for all of us, one of the most beneficial things we can do to cultivate our relationship with Jesus is to worship Him.

For me, worship has always been sort of an elusive thing. Like most people, I just kind of got into church and saw people singing, so I sang too. No one ever sat me down and explained what worship really is, and so for me, worship has been a learning process. I’ve went through seasons in my “worship life.” Maybe that’s your story too.

I feel like I talk about Romans 12:1 a lot, but it’s because it’s the truth. Here, Paul writes to Christ followers in Rome that they should “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” I think that first and foremost, the greatest act of worship we can participate in is the giving of our hearts and lives for the purposes of Jesus.

But what about when we sing? Well, I’ll actually be talking about this a little bit on Sunday morning during a devo I’ll get to give during our services, but essentially for me, worship through singing can be at times a really refreshing thing. When I fully engage, I am reminded each time I worship that it’s not all about me. I’m reminded of the doctrine and truth of God’s Word. I’m reminded of who Jesus is, and the promises that He has made with me... with all of us. Sometimes during worship I even have to wrestle with those truths; I may not always believe that Jesus is going to bless me in this incredible way, but when I worship, I learn how to trust God’s promises even when I don’t always feel like He’s going to come through on them.

The best thing I can say about worship is that you need to fully engage, whatever it is you do. Don’t waste the opportunities you have to sing to God each week. Don’t just cruise through. This week we sang a song called “The Stand,” and it was an awesome opportunity for me to once again declare to God and the world around me that I am going to offer my life to God for His purposes; that I’m going to live in a way that is fully surrendered to Jesus. You can’t do that unless you fully engage. Worship can be one of the most awesome ways to cultivate your relationship with Jesus; you just need to let it.