Treasure Hunt Tuesday: Responding in Worship

“Worship starts with seeing You.

Worship starts with seeing You.

Our hearts respond to Your revelation.”

~ “Seeing You” by Matt Redman

I hadn’t listened to these lyrics in years, but they jumped back into my mind and heart this week thanks to an episode of the Born to Create podcast. In his conversation with Kent Sanders, worship professor Aric Marshall defined worship as “our response to God’s revelation.” I love that description, and it immediately reminded me of those song lyrics in addition to this line I’ve heard Matt Redman quoted as saying:

“Worship is more about seeing than singing.”

That truth always hits me in a deep place and brings me back to asking myself:

Where am I fixing my eyes?

What am I focused on seeing?

If you know me very well, you know worship has a special place in my heart, so it has been such a blessing to have so many reminders this past week drawing me back to its true roots.

I was grateful to attend a ladies’ day this weekend with the theme of worship as well, and it was expressed in many forms throughout the day. One woman presented a dramatic monologue from the perspective of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Another painted a beautiful scene while Lauren Daigle’s “You Say” played in the background. A bell choir performed a special arrangement of songs. And all of us in attendance joined together in singing with different worship leaders for the morning and afternoon sessions. Each of these moments was unique but with the same purpose: glorifying God and responding to Him with praise.

The speaker for the day, Beth DeFazio from Ozark Christian College, urged us to remember, “True worship knows who God is and how He should be praised.” When we see and acknowledge Him as our “Cosmic Creator, Righteous Ruler, Mighty Miracle-Worker, and Suffering Savior,” our appropriate response is worship and adoration.

Christy Nockels also spoke along the same vein in her Glorious in the Mundane podcast recently as she declared,

“Worship is the response of the beloved.”

When we know we are truly loved by our Father, rightly seeing who He is and who we are in Him, what can we do but respond to Him with worship and praise? She encouraged us to own our identity as worshipers, saying, “You are a worshiper, at the core of your being, created to bless God.” I long to live truth every day, trusting Him “out loud” with my life.

But so often our vision gets clouded. What do we do then?

John Ortberg, who also had a message on worship this week (Are you sensing a theme in everything that’s been popping up for me to listen to lately?), pointed out,

“The biggest problem we have with our minds is not the knowledge that we lack but the knowledge that we forget.”

We know what’s true, but difficult circumstances, stress, or busyness can creep in and turn our eyes away from seeing God’s goodness and truth. So often we “forget” what we know, and our hearts can fall into discouragement or despair.

But as we rememberwho God is, what He has done, and what He is doing, our hearts respond in worship. Ortberg mentioned that “remember” is often used as a synonym for worship in Scripture. When God’s people remember His mighty works, from Old Testament to New Testament to today, worship is the only fitting response.

And he noted that Psalm 34:8 gives us the perfect prescription for incorporating worship into our everyday lives:

“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” (NIV)

As James 1:17 reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” So when we taste and see and experience those gifts, remembering they are indeed gifts from our Father and not anything we have earned or deserve, we again are filled with worship and wonder.

However, lest we think worship is only for times we can see what God is doing in the moment with our eyes, we also have this exhortation from Paul, written while he was in prison and facing death because of his faith: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NIV)

We choose our response at any moment as we choosewhere to fix our eyes. We can choose worship in any circumstance because our God is the King of kings and Lord of lords, enthroned in heaven and sovereign over every detail of our lives. And in the midst of all that, His love for us is beyond what we can begin to fathom.

So even in moments where we can’t physically see God’s goodness, we can see it in Scripture, and we can see it in community with other believers who share about God’s grace and working in their lives.

And as our worship leader reminded us on Sunday, choosing to worship is also an attack against Satan and his lies. Worship is powerful in battle, as we see often in Scripture. (2 Chronicles 20 might be my favorite example of this, although I’m not sure I would have been first to volunteer for that choir!)

But even thinking back to that account in Scripture reminds us of the importance of where we turn our eyes. I love the prayer of Jehoshaphat as he lays out everything before the Lord, concluding with these words: 

 

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:12b, NIV).

This is so often my prayer as well. I’m grateful for how God fights for us as we turn our eyes and hearts to Him in worship.

Father, truly I pray that You would lead my heart in genuine worship. Open my eyes to really see You, my heart to truly know You. Don’t let me forget Your benefits (Psalm 103). Heal me from short-sightedness. Stir my heart to remember and respond appropriately to all Your many blessings. And then remind me there are more blessings beyond what I can see, too. Thank You for Your grace and love and mercy in Jesus, Amen.

As always, I’d love to hear from you as well!

When you think about God, what do you see? (A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”)

How is God showing you His provision today?

What is God opening your eyes to see through Scripture?

How will you respond?

Are there any other treasures you’d like to share?

Or is there anything you’d like specific prayer for?

Feel free to comment or send me a message! Blessings to you as you seek to turn your eyes to what matters most!