The great Christian author G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The worst moment for an atheist is when they feel a sense of gratitude and have no one to thank.” It turns out gratitude and thankfulness are hard-wired into us as humans. We were created, along with everything in all creation, to worship.
Psalm 95:1-2 reads, 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. Here and throughout the Psalms, we are called to bring our worship and thanksgiving before God. Rather than some burdensome demand to be something we’re not, the psalmist is simply saying “Be who you are!” Have you ever considered that when you worship God, you are more fully living into your true self?
What I love about passages like Psalm 95 is the reminder of why we worship. Not only were we created to, but we’re called to worship simply because of who God is! Often we think that our worship should be based on how we feel on a given day or whether we think God has done enough for us recently. However, the Psalm continues in verses 3-5: 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.
In other words, God would be worthy of our worship if he never did another thing. If our circumstances never changed or our prayers weren’t answered the way we wanted, God is more than worthy to be worshiped for all of eternity! At first, this might seem hard to grasp. Are we simply called to blindly worship God, regardless of how we feel? Certainly, feelings are often a by-product of worship, but not the reason. If we wait for our feelings to always match our faith, we miss the point of worship.
God knew how often we would try to make life about us, so he created worship as an outlet so that as often as we do it, we would be reminded of a God who is bigger, stronger, and greater than we could ever imagine. When we worship him with no agenda, with no strings attached, we’re reminded that worship is first and foremost about who God is and what he’s done. Worship lifts our eyes off of ourselves, and allows us to express gratitude—the very thing we were created to do!
Questions for reflection:
- Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I really don’t feel like worshiping today…it’s been such a hard week, day, etc.?” Did you give up or press in to worship regardless of your circumstances?
- Take the psalmist up on the offer of expressing gratitude and thanksgiving to God this week with no other agenda. Whether in prayer, singing, or journaling, tell God how thankful you are and how great he is, expecting nothing in return. Then pay attention to what changes take place in your heart.