I’ve been reading a series of sermons by A.W. Tozer in which he has been hammering away at the point that worship is not just for Sundays. I believe we all know this and it isn’t new information. I also believe it is information few of us have taken the time to process.
Tozer went so far as to say “If you do not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him on one day a week. There is no such thing known in heaven as Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by Monday worship and Tuesday worship and so on.”
It’s easy to identify worship on Sunday. It’s when we get together and sing songs to God and listen to teaching about Him. But how do we worship Him Monday through Saturday? What does worship look like in our day to day lives?
Worship happens when our eyes are focused on God and our lives are submitted completely to Him. We worship God when we do the things He told us to do. Our lives worship God through obedience. When we love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, we worship Him. When we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, we worship Him.
Offering a kind word to a co-worker or a smile to a stranger are acts of worship. Controlling your tongue and refraining from tearing down some else is worshipping God. When we look like Jesus, we worship Him, because we are admitting His ways are better and higher than our own. Reflecting the love and character of God is a great way to worship Him.
Worship is all about humbling ourselves and admitting God’s ways are the only true ways. You cannot worship from a place of pride or ego. Selfishness and self-centeredness are the opposite of worship. When we spend our days pursuing our own interests, we fail to worship God. Life is either all about Him or all about you. You will always be worshipping something or someone as you go through your day. It all depends on where you place your focus. If everything you do is done with your eyes on Jesus, you will spend your day in worship. Should you take your eyes off Him, you cease to worship.
To me, worship really boils down to humility and obedience. It is admitting His love and His ways are beyond compare, that even our best efforts are worthless without Christ. Knowing this, it only makes sense we would obey everything He told us to do. We will love Him and we will serve others. That is what it looks like to worship God. It’s about removing ourselves from the equation and making everything about Jesus. He is above all, greater than all, and more beautiful than all else. He alone is worthy of our worship. Let’s make sure our worship goes beyond Sundays.