Worship

The key theme of Revelation is not really judgment, but worship, which is present throughout the book, a key answer to the struggle of the churches, and much more. What exactly is worship and how do we live it?

Imitation

Young children reflect an essential aspect of worship: they imitate their environment. So do we. We imitate our role models and want to be like them and become role models ourselves.

Sometimes our role models disappoint us or challenge us in ways we cannot follow at the time.

But role models can also lead us astray, teach us wrong values, or leave us alone.

Human in relationships

God created human beings to be relational. Each of us needs relationships, directly or indirectly. We need people to

• spend time with us
• encourage us, praise us, comfort us, love us, trust us, give us direction, …
• motivate us to become our better selves — make us grow so that they are better (children, partners, …)
• …

Even selfish and evil people need relationships, even if they are feared, envied or hated.

Because as human beings we live in conflict. We don’t want to be

• be hurt — so we end bad relationships
• to be lonely — so we start relationships

We cannot avoid relationships and learn to grow in them. We have to learn to trust and to deal with hurt and to learn how to give trust. This is a process that uses experiences that help us and the relationships grow.

And here we come to the point of what worship is.

The three steps of worship

Psalm 100 teaches us the way of worship in three stages:

• It begins with thanksgiving: We thank God for a specific thing He has done.
• We continue to praise: After we have experienced all the things for which we give thanks, we realize that God is good and praise His character.
• Finally, we come to worship (kneeling): where we trust God.

The word for worship (kneeling) comes from the Assyrian background, where worship means to lie flat on the ground. This was a gesture that was done after a king lost a war and he would lie flat on the ground and the victorious king would put his foot on his neck to symbolize: I can do whatever I want to you.

In worship we do the same thing. We go spiritually flat on the ground and say: God, do with me what you will. It is a sign of total surrender and loyalty, which makes it even political (are we loyal to the leaders of a country or to the King of Kings). This worship affects our every action.

Hindrances

Lack of thanksgiving

You may be stuck in the first stage, but do not worry, there is a way forward. This may be because

• You have experienced a lot of pain
• You have a wrong image of God, e.g. you only get things if you behave well, or you think you don’t deserve good things.

Here it helps to regularly reflect on what good is happening to you that day and give thanks for it.

Lack of praise

You may see the good things God does in your life, but you still don’t trust the goodness of His character. You think you know how to pray just right to get what you want, or you are just lucky. You don’t believe that God gives you good things because God is good. Maybe you think

• God is a service provider who answers prayers if they are selfless and for the good of others.
• An object without will that gives if you ask right or ask long enough.

But God is a good Father

• Who may not give what you want, perhaps because it does not have a lasting effect.
• May give things you don’t want, but will benefit your life
• Is more interested in a relationship than in making you happy and fulfilling all your desires (external service provider)

To grow here, reflect over a longer period of time on what was good in your life that made you grow and increased your quality of life. Check the image of God you have. Maybe there is a person or situation that you are projecting onto God that is distorting your view of Him.

Lack of worship

If you are here, you have gone a good way. But there is still one more step to master. You have understood that God is worthy of trust, but something stops you from doing it.Maybe you don’t trust God and do the things He asks you to do.

• Because you are not sure if you hear Him clearly and you are afraid of making a big mistake or embarrassing yourself — but God will not give up on you if you make a mistake, and we all make mistakes and without them we hardly grow.
• If you think you will lose control or disappoint people — this is the price of faithfulness, for you cannot make everyone happy.
• You have a better plan than God — of course we all do, until we learn otherwise.
• We are not willing to give up things because they are too precious, they give us security, they give us comfort — but we will not know what a full life in God is like if we are not willing to risk them.

Worship has a great price, but also a great opportunity.

• God will transform us into His character and image (give us authority).
• We will have a different sense of fulfillment in our lives and a different, deeper sense of purpose.
• Our values and priorities will change and become more fulfilling.
• The world around us will change for the better

Now, these are possible outcomes. You should not have a relationship with God for the sake of getting these (loving the gift more than the giver), but it might give you the courage to step out.

We become what we worship

Isaiah was told to preach to Israel, but they would not understand. Jesus also applied this to His ministry, but why? What is the point?

The answer is found in the Psalms: Those who put their trust in idols will become like them — they will not be able to see or hear. But if we give up trusting in idols and trust God completely, we can see.

So when Israel clung to the idols, they could not see the truth even when it was preached right in front of them.

What are idols?

Idols promise to give us what we want if we use the right methods. If you do the right things in the right way, you will get what you want. Sound familiar? All those books and seminars you attended to get what you want from God: the right prayer, the right faith, the right lifestyle, …

Don’t be deceived. A good father does not give his children what they want, but what is best for them, even if they try all their tricks.

If you want to know if you have an idol, here is a little checklist:

• Where do you put your hope when things go wrong — honestly?
• What do you spend most of your time, money, and resources on, and what do you expect to get out of it?
• What do you risk or sacrifice your health, your sleep, your well-being and even your life for when things go wrong?

Well, if the honest answer is, “To get a deeper relationship with God,” then you are on the right track. If it is not, maybe because you are really being honest, which is the first step and going in the right direction.

If the relationship with God is the main thing and He is not the tool to get all His blessings, then you are really a worshiper. And you will become like him. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get superpowers, but you will become like him and he will trust you with important things.