What Does a Worshipful Lifestyle Look Like?

Psalm 100 is one of the classic Psalms on worshiping God: “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Reading through that Psalm it’s hard to miss the joy, gladness, joyful songs, thanksgiving and praise! These are all right responses to God in worship because of who he is. We often mistakenly think we have to feel joyful before we can worship God with joy. Typically what that means is that we behave as though our joy was tied to our circumstances—which manipulate our feelings—which drive the tone and intensity of our worship. For many years I was caught up in thinking like that. But that’s all upside down thinking that stifles our freedom to worship God joyfully!

Just this morning I read one of the most remarkable passages in the Scripture on this matter. In the book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah laments the horrors that had befallen Israel as a result of their forsaking God. Israel’s enemies had destroyed Jerusalem—the crown jewel of Israel, ransacked and demolished its temple, carried off into exile those they hadn’t killed, and pillaged and raped their land until nothing was left. The resulting famine was so bad that the few remaining Israelites had resorted to cannibalizing their children!

My description of the horrors does not do their situation justice. But look at Jeremiah’s response to it all in Lamentations 3:21-24. You may recognize some of the lyrics from the famous hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness! Jeremiah writes, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’” (NLT)

When we can worship God and make much of him in spite of our circumstances we experience joy that transcends! John Piper explains, “All of life for the Christian is meant to magnify Christ. This can happen through pleasure, and it can happen through pain. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty.” (John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, p. 72.)

I’ll never forget the shock and terror of the September 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. My wife and I were scheduled to meet with our small group that night. As we came together, the only appropriate response was to pray for all those impacted by that act of terrorism and to worship God. Worshiping God is always an appropriate response!

There are also many situations in which God’s glory is so obvious, so apparent that worshiping him simply flows from them. These too are occasions in which we don’t want to miss the opportunity to worship the Lord! “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2)

©2009 Rob Fischer