Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Psalm 95:1-7

LEARN

As I came across this passage in Psalm 95, I had one of those moments where the Holy Spirit convicts you like a ton of bricks. The part that broke me was while I read “let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” My conviction was absent as I read most of the text until I came across the part about kneeling. As I tried to visualize kneeling humbly before the Lord I began to weep. When in the past few weeks has my heart posture actually been focused on kneeling? I focus heavily on worshipping and giving thanks to God, but I often shy away from the parts in my life that require me to actually posture myself as a servant. Even when I am at Church, a place where I should be going to focus on God in community, I want to be seen. I want to be praised, if even for how my hair looks, but more for the ways people view me. I want to be acknowledged for my ability to shepherd other women and speak truth into their lives because I am important. In these times I desire to stand next to God instead of face down before him.

Paul Washer says it well, “most of us in our hearts want to be called a servant, but none of us want to be treated like one.” I like the idea of humble submission, but not actually playing the part of a servant. The problem with me bowing before God in surrender is that I don’t want to. Worshipping is fine because I am still present for others to see me, but bowing takes the focus off me and onto God. It is humbling and bold and the sin in me says- sorry God thats a bit too dramatic, how about I courtesy instead?

It is ridiculous of me to think I can worship God without actually giving my life to Him, but I do it every day. Worship is not just words or thoughts, but actions. It is a continuous posture, not just a moment. God doesn’t just want our lip service, he wants us to surrender our lives to Him as an act of worship. We are deceiving ourselves if we think we are true worshippers when we can’t even bow down long enough to allow others to look to Christ. “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” John 4:23.

KNOW

What posture do you have towards God (standing beside Him, blocking Him, or kneeling before Him)?

Are you a true worshipper or just giving God lip service?

What are you not willing to give up in order to be a servant for God (power, approval, status)?

DO

When we idolize ourselves, we desire to take the focus off of God and put in on ourselves.

Think about the things you do on a daily basis that focus too much attention on yourself and too little attention on God.
Make a list of the things you do each day that are for your own glory.
Pray over those things and confess them to God as you seek to put your idols to death.

Here are some great resources for further study on true worship and servanthood.

-Bible:

Read the Psalms

-Read Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - focusing specifically on how Jesus acted as a humble servant for God during His time on earth.

-Books:

When People are Big and God is Small By Edward T. Welch

A Taste of Heaven By R.C. Sproul

Worship: Adoration and Action By D.A. Carson