April 7 Devotion

Scripture: Psalm 63:1-8

It’s the Saturday before Easter, and I am filled with anticipation. Over what, you may ask. Well, there is the obvious reason of tomorrow being the most significant day in our Christian year. The events of this day and those preceding cause us to experience a significant range of emotions. There are two particular aspects of this year’s Easter experience about which I am most excited. The first is being able to participate in our church’s 40-hour prayer vigil. This day I will have the privilege of praying for two hours, in the morning with my daughter, and in the evening with my Emmaus friends. What a wonderful way to prepare for Easter Sunday.

The second thing about which I am excited is the worship experience I will have tomorrow morning. Certainly the whole church atmosphere will exude the beauty of spring and new life, from the beautiful, fragrant flowers to the brightly colored clothes we will wear. There is no doubt that this environment will be conducive to a lovely hour spent in the sanctuary. These things do not, however, make our church service a worship experience. The more I read and hear, the more convinced I am that the key ingredient to a worship experience that leaves you exclaiming “we had church today!” is our attitude. I recently attended a worship seminar where it was pointed out that the way many of us think of worship is actually totally backwards. A great many of us, myself included, tend to look upon church as an opportunity to sit and be entertained for an hour. That places us in the role of “audience” and the pastors, choir and other participants in the role of “performer” or “entertainer.” I see now that worship is NOT a spectator sport!

Think about it. God should be for whom worship is planned, and we should be the most active participants, assisted and inspired by the choir, pastors and others involved. We should not rely on any one or any thing to make the worship service work for us or be an intimate time between us and God. For me, this idea is a radical change from the way I grew up, but I now realize it is the only way to achieve true worship, a time to praise and honor and thank God. Worship is not about socializing with our friends, although that is a nice by-product of being together. Worship is also not a time to come and be present physically but be absent spiritually because we cannot let go of all the other things going on in our lives. We should check those competing concerns at the door to the sanctuary so to speak and turn them over to God so that we can put our energy into what we came to the church to do. Finally, worship is not about how much we liked the anthem or how good or bad the pastor’s sermon may have been. It is not about what kind of music the choir sang, whether they used the organ or piano, or maybe even drums and guitar, what color the pastors’ robes are, or whether people showed their joy by clapping, raising their hands to God or even dancing. These types of things are merely elements of a service which can certainly enhance our experience, but what we get out of worship should not be dependent on them all being just the way we like them. Remember, God is the audience, and He is pleased with all different kinds of expressions of praise and gratitude, not just those that have been used for the past hundred years. While Easter Sunday , a naturally joyful day in our churches, is a great time to experience the active, enthusiastic worshipping of our Lord, it can be done on any Sunday if we bring the right attitude with us. Each time we enter into worship, we have cause to celebrate: Christ is risen indeed!

Psalm 63 paints a beautiful image of that attitude. Verses 1 and 2 reflect the psalmist’s hunger for God, a longing to be in His presence–“I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you.” Verses 3 and 4 identify why we worship God - - “Because your steadfast love is better than life” and our response to that love “I will lift up my hands and call on your name;” “my mouth praises you with joyful lips.” When we are fully present in worship, singing hymns with enthusiasm and gratitude, praying earnestly, pondering the meaning of all that is spoken and sung, we can’t help but have an amazing experience. In fact, the psalmist likens it to our souls being satisfied “as with a rich feast.” How is that for something to look forward to on any Sunday morning? The opportunity awaits us each week to eagerly anticipate our worship experiences and to make them all they can be. Very simply, we get out of it what we put into it. Our worship setting may change, the music we sing may vary (as I noted, guitars and drums are legitimate worship instruments), and those who assist in the service may also change, but our worship experience doesn’t have to.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for continually opening our eyes to those things that enrich our relationship with you. Help us to never stop thirsting for you or praising your name with all of our being. Amen.

Mary Taylor