Today I wished that time stood still. I was in one of our 2 weekly chapels today in worship when one of the lines hit me like a brick: “I’m in awe of you”. In that moment I wished time had stopped. I wish we had taken a long moment to reflect on that phrase, to think about what it meant for us. To ask ourselves that question, Am I in awe of God? For those who are not close to me, worship has been difficult for me for a long time, years in fact, but recently my heart has begun stirring again, as I have been worshiping again, and as I start to understand worship in a different way.
Worship began to change in me when I heard a great line at a conference I attended-that it’s okay if we get nothing out of worship, because that isn’t the point of worship. While this seems abrasive, it rings true, and forces us to confront why we worship. Worship is about giving praise and honor to God. It’s about recognizing the work he does, and the attributes of him, and giving our all to him, bowing down in reverence. Nothing in that is about us. Nothing in that gives us the entitlement to “get something out of worship” or have this big moment. Worship isn’t about us, it’s about God, and who he is. Not about the things he does in our lives, although we can point to those as evidence, but who he is. It’s as simple as that.
This understanding of worship has changed me, and brought me to the moment of today. “I’m in awe of you”. That simple line has so much meaning, so much depth. Since chapel I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I am in awe of God. I am in awe of his power, his wonder, and his deeds. I am in awe of his creation, his love, and of his sacrifice. I am in awe of his mercy, his grace, and his overwhelming peace. I am in awe of God. This is worship. The more I reflect the more I feel completely inadequate in his presence. The more I feel the need to fall to my knees and hde my face from his Holiness. The more I feel the need to fall at the altar in tears because of how great and mighty He is.
The thing is we serve such a mighty God, that our only response can be complete awe of Him. We cannot walk away unchanged, uncaring. He is such an awesome God that it forces a response out of us. It forces us to realize how small we are and how much we need Him. His Glory brings us to our knees as we give whatever we have to Him, hoping he can in some way use it to spread His glory.
Today, I stand in awe of God. Not because of what He has done, but by the simple fact that He.Is.God. I stand in complete surrender, offering everything, driven to my knees by Him. Today, I worshiped God. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.
