"I Choose to Worship"

I want to share with you a verse I discovered (or re-discovered) a few months ago that has shaken me to my core. It has caused me to re-examine my understanding of worship and re-visit the importance of constantlybeing in awe of God.  

In Job 1 the devil moves, with God’s permission, against Job and takes away all of Job’s property and his 7 children. Job was a wealthy and righteous man and in a span of a few moments a series of servants come with bad news after band news culminating in Job 1:18-19, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

 

Stop and put yourself in Job’s shoes. Things were great. He was prosperous and successful in business. He had a large family what was happy and well provided for and in a matter of moments it was all gone. What would you do? What would your immediate reaction be to such a devastating moment?

 

Job 1:20 has become one of the most heart wrenching, convicting and potent scriptures I have ever encountered. 

 

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.”

 

And Job didn’t sing hymns or contemporary songs, he didn’t go to church on Sunday morning, he didn’t wait until he was alone, right there and then in the what was surely the worst moment of his life he fell on his knees and worshiped God. 

 

I often wonder why things get to me like they do. I mean, I should be concerned and focused on some things, but why do they shake me? Affect my joy? Overwhelm me with fear? 

 

I think it’s because I look at everything but God. I look to the church, to the doctors, to my family. But how often to I just stop and look at God. as the Psalmist puts it, “Be still and know that He is God.” In Exodus 14 when the Israelites are trapped at the Red Sea and the Egyptian army is bearing down on them they are filled with fear as any normal human being would be and then Moses says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Moses says to be quiet and look to God. 

 

Job looked to God immediately. And what happens when you look to God? You stand in awe. And when you stand in awe of God you cannot help but worship Him. 

 

There’s this passage in Jeremiah 2:19 where the prophet writes, “…Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me.”

 

It is bitter and evil for you and I when we are not in awe of God. 

 

There’s a song we’ve been singing a lot at Rocklane lately. It’s called “I choose to worship” from Rend Collective. It is a powerful song and I will share the lyrics with you in a moment. But it makes the point that worship is a spiritual discipline that you must choose to do all the time, no matter the circumstances. We must choose to be in awe of God and there find the wherewithal we need to move forward. 

 

I want end by sharing these lyrics with you and asking you to choose to worship as I will in the midst of the struggle. 

 

I choose to worship
I choose to bow
Though there's pain in the offering, I lay it down

 

Here in the conflict
When doubt surrounds
Though my soul is unraveling I choose You now

 

I will praise You through the fire
Through the storm and through the flood
There is nothing that could ever steal my song

In the valley You are worthy, you are good when life is not
You will always and forever be my song

I build my altar right here and now

In the midst of the darkest night it won't burn out
For You are perfect, no matter what
In the joy of the suffering I'll sing it loud

 

When the enemy says I'm done, I'll lift my praises
When my world come crashing down I'll lift my praises high
'Til the darkness turns to dawn I'll lift my praises

I choose to worship, I choose You now, I choose You now