Worship

Early last week, Psalm 63 came to mind, and I don't know why, but when I read it early Sunday morning on my way to church, verse 3 stood out to me. Psalm 63:3 says "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you". I thought this verse was pretty neat, especially as I was going to be leading worship at church that morning. 

But what is worship? Singing on a Sunday morning at church? Praying before a meal? Worship is a way of living, how we (as Christians) live each day. In Greek (the language of the New Testament) worship is 'λατρεία' meaning devotion or adoration. So worship is not just an act of singing to God on Sunday mornings at church, but it is the way in which we choose to live our life. I do my best to live everyday in worship of God - I want to adore God and I am devoted to him. Saying 'I adore and I am devoted to God' sounds so much more beautiful than 'I worship God'. There is something beautiful about living one's life for a God, a deity that we've never met nor seen. 

So maybe it sounds weird to say I worship God, by loving, adoring, and staying devoted to him. But do you know why I've chosen this way of life? Because God has done so much more for me than I could have ever imagined, when I was sad he gave me pure unending joy, when I felt rejected he loved me, and when I was lost he found me. God is so much more to me than only that guy we pray to at church, or before meals. God is real to me, I can feel he is with me, I can experience the love and joy he gives me. 

I want to tell a short story. In high school I got in with the wrong group of friends, and because of them I changed the way I acted - I swore, I talked like them, and I even began to act like them. Little did I know that I was hurting myself by acting like this. Before I knew it, I was unhappy, feeling dissatisfied with life, and I got angry easily. I didn't care about school any more, and that year my grades dropped. I was messing around, living in the moment, carefree. Then that summer, when the school year was out, I went on a trip to M'Chigeeng to serve the wonderful people on the First Nations Reserve on behalf of an organization called DayStar. I went with my church, and in that community, we ran a day camp. We taught the kids about God, told them how much he loved them, and for once in a very long time I began to realize how much God loved me. If I could love these beautiful children, and if love comes from God, then God must have a much bigger heart for me than I could ever imagine. I can't remember the exact time, day, or moment, but some point on that reserve I came to love and adore God. I came back from that trip feeling like I had better vision, physically I could see better. I could see better colours, better light, somehow my eyes felt opened wide and I felt happiness that would never leave me - joy. It was completely wonderful, in serving others and forgetting about myself, God answered a silent prayer, a desperate plea, he took away my unhappiness, he gave me satisfaction, he took away my anger, even the swearing stopped. This was how I came to know God's love for me, through the love I saw in these beautiful children. I didn't realize how much I needed God's love until he gave it to me. God is love. I know that God is love because 2000 years ago, he came to earth in the form of a man, and died for my life, knowing that I would make mistakes. But he chose to love me enough to make me his daughter. Because he died for me, I can always come to him and talk to him as my Father, he is a wonderful father who hears my prayers and answers the whispers of my hurting heart. He didn't just die for me - he died for every single person, and anyone who accepts him can have a loving relationship with him, just ask.

See why I worship my God? Because if he died for me, the least I could give him in return is my devotion, my time. I live my life as an act of worship so people can look at me and see that God has given me joy and a wonderful life to live. I live to tell people my story, to inspire those who feel like their life isn't perfect. My God is perfect, but my life isn't and that's why I need him. He took my darkness (hurt, sadness, and anger) and replaced it with light (joy, happiness, and a smile).

Here's a poem I wrote a little more than a year ago called The Cards are not Mine:

So many things,

Dragging me down.

Everything I did,

... Everywhere I went.

Memories.

Pain.

Rejection.

Are no more.

I found peace outside,

Behind old doors.

Locked,

They were no longer.

Soon came healing,

From another source.

I gave my life away,

Traded for another.

Love came in,

Replacing old feelings.

Joy.

Understanding.

A new beginning,

With a different ending.

Would I trade again?

No.

The cards are not mine

To keep or deal.

God bless!