“Delight yourself in the Lord!” — Psalm 37:4
“Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice!” — Psalm 32:11
What is worship?
The NCAA and NFL football seasons are well underway. We all have our favorite teams and colleges, some of us even make plans to go to games. Football is a great way to bring people together because we cheer for the same team, attend the same college or are local to a team. As fans we show our love for these teams through emotions at the word of a score or the sounds of a team chant. All these actions are healthy ways of showing admiration for our teams.
So how do we show admiration to our God? I think we do it through our worship. Worship can take on many forms. Recently, in my personal reading, I noticed there are many ways we worship.
Obviously, singing is the main worship we are familiar with, but what else? At times we stray from God and are not as in fellowship with Him as we have been in the past. I believe even in these times God feels our worship. How? In the longing to reunite in that closeness we’ve experienced with Him.
But also, we get stuck in traditionalism and going through the motions. God is not pleased with this kind of worship. Why? Because worship is not about fulfilling a duty or doing what everyone else is doing.
Writes John Piper, “The fuel of worship is the truth of God; the furnace of worship is the spirit of man; and the heat of worship is the vital affections of reverence, contrition, trust, gratitude, and joy.”
Are we desperate for God? Does knowing Him give you chills randomly throughout the day when you think about His love for you? He is a God of love, mercy, grace and justice. I pray that today you know that in the good and bad God is worshipped. He deserves it.
“Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.” — Psalm 4:7
— Reid Carper
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
