Category: Worship

Preparing for Worship

They’d been trekking in the desert for three months after a terrifying flight from Egypt. Tired and dirty, they made camp at the foot of Mount Sinai and awaited instructions from their leader. The Israelites carried gold, silver, and fine fabric given to them by their captors, but no one would’ve guessed the riches they possessed looking at their chapped skin, matted hair, and dusty clothing. 

Despite the weariness of travel, Moses must have felt reassured arriving at Mount Sinai as he thought back to when he first met the Lord. God had spoken from the burning bush, calling Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and providing reassurance: “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12, NIV) Now, they’d arrived at the mountain and were preparing for their first worship service before the Lord.

Moses climbed up and down the mountain several times receiving instructions from God to share with the Israelites. There were many tasks to complete before they would be ready to worship: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’” (Exodus 19:10-11, NIV) For the next two days all of their efforts were focused on preparing for worship. Perhaps during the time spent washing their sweaty bodies and filthy clothes, the people pondered the majesty and holiness of their God.

We’ve come a long way from that today, haven’t we? I remember helping one of my sons pack clothes for a weekend event at his prospective college a few years ago. Looking at the information letter he’d received, I reminded him they’d encourage him to wear his “Sunday Best.” With a dramatic flourish of his hand, he gestured toward his tattered hoodie and jeans and said, “Done!” Clearly, I’d stopped fighting the battle of asking him to dress up for church.

Preparing for worship isn’t just about clothing though, is it? It’s about the state of our hearts. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 13 about a farmer sowing seeds in a field. Some seed falls on a hard path where it’s eaten by birds; other seed falls on rocky places where it springs up quickly but withers because it has no roots; other seed falls among thorns that choke out the plants as they grow. Lastly, some seed falls on good soil where it produces a bountiful crop. Jesus’ parable illustrates different situations that affect a person’s ability to receive the gospel. It’s also a reminder to prepare the soil in our lives as part of readying ourselves for worship. 

Many of us give little thought to the state of our hearts and minds as we come to worship. Sometimes we view it as a consumer experience; we expect to get something out of it but don’t consider what we’re bringing to it. Or we wedge it into a packed day and see it as just another event on our schedules. However, being intentional about preparing for worship will enable us to be joyful participants instead of passive spectators. Here are a few ideas:

Prepare your heart. Confess any sins that are hindering your connection to God and that will prevent you from engaging whole-heartedly in worshiping Him. Don’t be like the Israelites the Lord chastised: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13, NIV) Follow David’s example and invite the Lord to speak to you: “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11, NIV) Or personalize Paul’s prayer in Ephesians: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19, NIV)

Prepare your mind. If you know what Bible passage will be covered in that week’s sermon, read it in advance. You’ll absorb so much more if you’re already familiar with the text. If you don’t know the content of the sermon, choose a psalm to read that will set your mind on the Lord and help you to be open and teachable: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18, NIV) Ask the Lord to purify your mind so that you can receive godly wisdom: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21, NIV)

Prepare your body. Be well-rested so that you can participate fully in worship. The Israelites prepared through cleansing their bodies and washing their clothes. Tending to our appearance isn’t about impressing anyone else at church, but about showing reverence to the Lord. When we do that, it signals to our minds that we’re getting ready for something special: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV)

Prepare your relationships. We can’t worship God sincerely while treating others poorly. Consider if there’s anyone you’ve hurt and pursue reconciliation with them: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24, NIV) Also, consider if there’s anyone you need to forgive: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15, NIV)

Prepare continually. Spend time with the Lord in prayer and Bible reading throughout the week. Let God speak to you in silence and solitude. Cultivate your relationship with Him consistently and you’ll find times of corporate worship to be even more meaningful and encouraging: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15, NIV) “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV) “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:18, NIV)

Let “Here I Am to Worship” inspire you to maintain a focus on worshipping God throughout the week. Click here to watch.

Inspired by God of Freedom by Jen Wilkin, Lifeway Press 2022, Week 2.

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Sunshine and Shadows

In one day, Job lost his ten children, numerous servants, and all the livestock he owned, obliterating his family and livelihood. Consumed by grief, he tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell to the ground to worship God saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21, NIV)

Scripture tells us, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:22, NIV)

While Job’s grief was still fresh “Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” (Job 2:7-10, NIV)

What strikes me most isn’t the tragedy of Job’s losses, but his response to them. In his grief, he worshiped the Lord and accepted the harsh turn of events. Does this surprise you like it does me? Praising God through difficult times feels foreign to us. Maybe it’s because our culture seems obsessed with comfort and ease and labels anything that’s hard or painful as bad or wrong. 

Even among Christians, there is a sense that God is good… as long as He does things the way we want. We thank Him when He answers prayers according to our desires and question Him when He implements a different plan. We’ve developed a quiet sense of entitlement, believing we have a right to certain things. We think we deserve a smooth path devoid of obstacles and are injured and indignant when God allows hardship instead. We take the good things in our lives for granted instead of seeing them as blessings. And we question whether God really is good or loving when something hard happens that disrupts what we consider “normal.” We rarely embrace that life is a balance of sunshine and shadows. Instead, we become doubtful, cynical, or self-pitying when dark clouds obscure our bright skies.

Sometimes we forget that the Lord deserves praise regardless of our circumstances. We focus on what He does or doesn’t do instead of who He is. I remember being struck by this realization many years ago when I witnessed parallel tragedies with opposite outcomes. In the span of two years, two little girls I loved faced dire situations: one was diagnosed with a brain tumor and the other almost drowned. Both spent time in the hospital ICU with grim diagnoses. One ended up losing her life; the other made a full recovery. Both came from families of faith who had prayed for miracles and trusted God to do what was best.

I don’t know why the Lord chose to heal one while allowing the other to die. It remains a mystery why one family got to resume their “normal” life, while the other was altered forever. Despite the opposite outcomes, both families accepted the pain God had allowed and grew deeper in their relationships with Him. Their trust in the Lord was inspiring and had a ripple effect on everyone who knew them, and many who didn’t.

These incidents gave me a fuller understanding of the Psalmist who says: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:1-2, NIV ‘84) As followers of Jesus, we understand that salvation and security lie outside the realm of circumstances. Whether earthly events turn out well or not, our true hope has an eternal perspective because death cannot separate us from God. 

There is a temptation to spend so much time questioning the Lord in hard times that we miss the opportunity to trust Him and let Him comfort us.  We wrestle with doubt and ask, “Why is God letting this happen?” Meanwhile, we overlook the places where He is showing up; where He is giving us tangible answers. Being consumed by self-pity also causes us to miss the ways He wants to teach and refine us through painful times. Additionally, it means we bypass chances to show others His goodness. In God’s economy, pain shouldn’t be wasted like this.

We can’t forget that no matter what hardships we encounter in this life, God wins in the end.  The Psalmist states it so clearly: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands… On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:3-4,6-8, NIV ‘84) Ultimate hope doesn’t come from expecting God to turn circumstances in our favor; it comes from knowing His love is better than even life itself. Trusting His hand to hold us up and remembering that He walks with us through the darkness gives us the comfort we need. Because of His presence, we can find joy in the darkness– not a happy, smiling, giddy kind of joy, but a deep, peaceful assurance that He is in control and always has been.

Beloved author and preacher Oswald Chambers wrote: “We imagine we would be all right if a big crisis arose; but the big crisis will only reveal the stuff we are made of, it will not put anything into us… Crises always reveal character.” When we put our trust in God and walk with Him daily, when we seek His face, study His word, and obey Him in humble reliance, we will see Him molding and shaping our characters little by little.  At the same time, He will be revealing His character and His goodness to us. And when trouble comes, we’ll continue to trust Him and give Him the praise He deserves.

“Yes I Will” by Vertical Worship is a song of defiant praise during hardship. Let it fill you with renewed hope today.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, Discovery House Publishers, 1935, 1963, Sept. 10 entry.