In His Name Devotionals
WORSHIP IS SURRENDER
In His Name Devotionals
WORSHIP IS SURRENDER
There is so much discussion of worship these days. Traditional or contemporary? High church or less formal? Drama or not? Song books or projector? Single leader or praise team? And on and on the discussion goes.
Most of the discussion is trite rather than profound, for most of it misses the real point. There can and should be different worship styles. There are, after all, different personalities and tastes. Some churches make deliberate choices for specific reasons, but some don't. We can discuss and debate those choices to death and never get to the central issue.
A church that does worship exactly as it did fifty years ago may be smug and self-congratulatory against those who have made changes. Chances are, however, that arrogant judgments will more likely be passed by those among us who have changed some things in an effort to connect with people we have missed. Shame on both or the real significance of worship can be missed from either side of a judgmental divide.
So what is the nature of worship that pleases God? How does one honor the ideal articulated by Jesus that His disciples should worship in Spirit/spirit and Truth/truth?
Worship occurs-whether in private or with others—when self-consciousness gives way to self-surrender. There are no "actors" or "performers" to be rated for their effectiveness. There are no pronouncements for ourselves, or against others. Authentic homage is paid to the Lord when we enter an environment and state of mind that combine to lift us out of ourselves into what Paul designates "heavenly realms."
Worship is a yielding of one's self in which we perceive that we are not the center of the cosmos around which all things must revolve. To the contrary, God is. God alone—always and absolutely.
That is why we pray: "Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven" and "Not our will, but Yours be done." We sing: "All to Jesus, I Surrender" and "Majesty" or "O Lord, You're Beautiful." We engage our bodies: lifting hands or kneeling, bowing heads or closing eyes. We are moved to tears, laughter, or penitence.
Worship, when it is experienced, is not critiqued in third-party mode. It is a transaction between Creator and creature. Oh, it may be reflected upon after the fact. At the time it occurs, however, one is "lost in wonder, love, and praise"—to borrow a line from an old hymn.
When I am worried about my sensibilities and my judgments on the event, I have not yet worshiped. The dominant consciousness is self-consciousness rather than giving over to God for the sake of what He will choose to do in that moment and beyond.
No wonder worship is so difficult; we must step back so God can be in charge. And no wonder there is so much discussion of worship; it is easier to write an article than to surrender to the Lord Sunday morning.
