The sacred rhythm of worship
Worry has always been with me, for as long as I can remember. Although I didn’t know its name, so I named it stress.
But this time it was different. The “c” word had just entered our lives and I was overwhelmed with uncertainty. When my husband, Joe was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive Lymphoma we both felt the wind knocked out of us.
We needed a way to get through it, so we decided to choose worship over worry. We asked our family and friends to join us, and we were surprised about what happened next. (Sometimes what we choose can ripple into other’s lives and change them too.)
This idea of worship led me with a black pen to chase it down in my Bible, and I was surprised where it led me. I hadn’t read much about King Jehoshaphat, much less knew how to say his name, but something about his story in 2 Chronicles resonated with me. I found something similar being written about me.
Jehoshaphat, on the night before a vast army was threatening to annihilate his country, chose to worship God. The Hebrew word for worship means to bow down. Laying himself flat out before God, Jehoshaphat led his people into worship. Even as he faced death, he fell down in worship and he trusted God.
I wondered if this was the secret to trusting God – to trust him before the miracle comes.
What if instead of being consumed with worry, we paid attention to what God is doing in and around us?
It’s easy to worship when life is good, but it takes grit to go to Him in the depth of depression when your heart is overwhelmed with grief. But what I found is when I bring God my praise in the wilderness, his presence becomes my greatest peace.
Friend, I get it - life is hard but what I’m learning these days is that even in the hardest of healing—worry and worship cannot coexist.
Because one always wins.
So, as I take some steps ahead, I’m continuing to embrace God within the shadows of worship because it’s here I’m finding his peace.
And even though I may walk through the darkest of valleys ahead, I will continue to worship God.
Because I don’t worship Him for what he’s doing, but for who He is.
Scripture for meditation
“Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 20:18 (ESV)
Prompts for reflection and journaling
Do you make space for worship in your life?
In what area of your life has worry taken over your thoughts?
Plan some time this week to listen to worship music or meditate on words of worship. The Psalms of David are a great place to start if you need help with the words.
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