What then is worship?

‘’Shachah’’ the primary Hebrew word that is translated as worship means ‘’to bow down.’’ In other words, it means to show respect to an other by telling them they are important.

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to worship is: to honour or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power. To regard with great extravagant respect, honour or devotion.

Worship is a lifestyle that pleases God. Worship is an act of surrender to the perfect will of God. Worship is the highest form of honour, respect or regard that we can show towards God. When right and wrong stare us in the face and we choose to do the right, we have worshipped God by that very action. Worship is any action from us that pleases God, brings Him pleasure and gladness. Worship is the most personal, direct and intimate conversation we can have with God. We were created to worship Him and have fellowship with Him.

True worship is spiritual. It is deep calling unto deep. It is a fellowship with the Father. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour has this to say: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24 {ESV}

We can worship God with our songs but songs alone can never cover everything that worship is. Worship is on an elevated plain. Beyond the song, from the heart posture of the worshipper to deep down in the spirit, there does the LORD seek for true worship.

– Kumbish Emmanuel Putleh

Ours is a discontented world, and current events indicate that more unsettled times are just ahead, creating more anxiety and dissatisfaction. God’s Word tells us, however, that we must be content in all things.

God wants us to be content to save us a great deal of heartache and to prevent us from breaking His commandments. Yet, because of our carnal nature, human reasoning clouds our thinking, and we often miss the real significance of God’s instructions, which, as God’s children, we need to know and practice.

In Ecclesiastes 5:10, Solomon writes, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” In his wisdom, Solomon had seen that money and possessions do not bring a person true happiness and is, therefore, vanity. The dictionary defines vanity as a “display of excessive pride,” and Proverbs 16:18 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” These scriptures show that money or possessions are not the way to happiness. Yes, we can enjoy these things, but if that is all we are interested in, we will never be content. Just look at the lives of the rich and famous!

God is not a God who wants us to live miserable existences, working all our lives just to pay off debts that we have accumulated, perhaps because we tried to keep up with the Joneses. He wants us to have an abundance of good things in our lives, and that begins with obeying His Word. We can all look at the people in our towns and see many who do not obey God yet seemingly prosper and have all that life can provide. Some may have gained high positions in the community or government, but are they genuinely happy? Did they, perhaps, achieve so much through dishonesty and underhanded tactics?

What drives many people is the desire to take as much out of life as possible, and they try to prove it by the possessions they accumulate—whether they can afford them or not. Some remain unsatisfied until they have bigger and better things than their neighbors, which means every time a neighbor gets something new, they have to top it. When they go shopping, they give in to the demands of all the eye-catching merchandise screaming out to them, “Buy! Buy! Buy!” These people are never content! Ultimately, they are in heavy debt and leave a mountain of bills as their children’s inheritance.

Too often, people fill their homes with things that they might appreciate for a few weeks or even months but then either throw them away or put them on sale at a garage sale. What a waste! Sadly, it seems that some people work solely for possessions. Discontentment is a hard taskmaster, and many make themselves slaves to credit cards and second mortgages.

Not being content with what they have drives people to lose all reasoning and break more of God’s laws. Sometimes, when people receive a gift they did not particularly want, and someone else receives what they desired, their discontentment leads them to jealousy and feelings of unfairness. The fact that the person giving the gift had put a lot of time and effort into choosing and purchasing the gift becomes lost in ingratitude. When we allow ourselves to become discontent, we allow this damaging, carnal thinking to rob us, not only of the joy of receiving, but also of the love and thoughtfulness that went into it. If we do not stay on top of them, our carnal natures can lead us into all kinds of unhappiness, with the result that we sin. Being discontent has serious consequences.

— Geoff Preston

The people of Israel cried to God while in Egypt to save them, He heard and sent Moses. By His mighty outstretched arm, He brought them out of Egypt on the way to the Promised Land.

In Exodus 15, they went 3 days without water in the wilderness. At Marah they finally found water, but it was not drinkable. The Lord showed Moses a tree, he cast it in, and the water became sweet. What an adventure!

However, in Exodus 16, right after Elim, they hit a spot and Adventure Fatigue surfaced. They cried out to Moses. ‘We would have preferred remaining in Egypt around our meat pots, they said. God’s response, I will send you Manna and I will test you in the process.

Dear friend, Adventure Fatigue can happen to the best of us. But when it does, here are a few things to consider.

1. Tell God how you feel.
2. Be reminded that because the journey is God’s, the plan will be His too.
3. If your last season were all that, you would not have needed this one.
4. God is faithful and can stabilize you even in the eye of a storm.
5. He will provide and sustain.
6. No matter what, God is Good.

You see, adventure must be learnt, so even when you feel like the one you are in with God now does not work, hold on to Him. He is always up to and on to something.

From a fellow traveller that is adventure fatigued sometimes, the assurance is no matter how long it takes, we will arrive. Our God is too faithful and capable to fail.