Just Worship

Hello my friend. I think you and I need a weekend getaway soon to somewhere warm. This cold weather has left my toes blue and my lips chapped. Whoever wrote that song, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”, was obviously warm-natured and had a vacation house in the tropics. Along with my hot coffee, I have plugged in my electric heating pad. Yep, it’s that kind of a day. And I'm so happy to share some of it with you.

Now that I’m warming up, I’m going to tell you about a few things I’ve learned in my 25 years of life so far.

At age 2, I learned gummy worms are delicious, but the ones in the backyard are not. And being the thorough 2 year old I was, it took me biting into 3 of the little squirmers to come to the conclusion that these were not the same as the rainbow colored treats that grandma brought over when she visited. To this day, I prefer gummy bears. When I was 4, I discovered that my baby sister was NOT a real life baby doll; she did not need Audrey Hepburn bangs, therefore I shouldn’t practice my hairstyling skills on her. When I turned 6, I discovered that boys throw dirt at you when they like you. Why this happens, I still don’t know. All I do know is that I lost a perfectly good Winnie the Pooh t-shirt due to a red clay, mud ball during JP’s crush on me in kindergarten. Tragic, I know. When I was 10, I began to realize my parents didn’t know everything. The immediate years following this realization was an interesting time for me and my mom because I became Miss Sassy Pants and started thinking I was pretty much right...all the time. Ok, I wasn’t “pretty much” right all the time...I was SPOT ON with every issue in life. I was shocked that everyone couldn’t see how perfect my reasoning was. When I turned 16, I discovered that no matter how hard my parents tried to talk me into learning to drive a manual car, I was not at all coordinated enough to do so successfully. If stick-shifts were that great, then please tell me why automatics were invented? At age 18, I realized being considered a “legal adult” didn’t at all make me feel like one. When I was 21, I experienced how wonderful being in love was...and how how painful it was when it wasn’t with the right person. At 22, I discovered how incredible it was to fall in love with my best friend/co-counselor at a summer camp; and at age 23, what a fairytale it was to marry him.

But there’s one thing in particular that I’ve learned and I want to share it with you. It may sound simple, elementary or basic. (But that’s the beautiful thing about truth, right? It’s not complicated.) And this truth I want to share with you has revolutionized my life. Days when I feel overwhelmed & I literally don’t know what to do...I worship. Not because I “feel” happy, or “feel” like worshipping, but because God is faithful every day, whether I feel it or not.

1 Chronicles 16:23 says: “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.”

So since I know He is faithful, I worship Him. I don’t focus on my problems, I focus on the truth that He promises never to forget me, that His love will never end and that His grace is sufficient. I don’t focus on the issue that feels so huge it’s paralyzing my heart at times. I plug in my iPod, turn on praise and worship music, and I sing to my God because I trust Him.

Psalm 59:16 says: “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” 


I don’t want shallow faith that bends or breaks when I feel the waves starting to sway my boat. I don’t want to retreat; shut down; crumble. No. My God calmed the waves. He establishes my footsteps. He WANTS to bless me abundantly. My God is my foundation and He fulfills His promises. And on the days when I would previously cry all day, I now cry out to my God, declaring Him faithful. Sometimes I use words. Sometimes my emotions are so tattered that I don’t even know what words to use, so my spirit cries out to Him.

I love what John 4:23 says. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

As dark as those moments seemed before, the sun really did come in the morning. And by worshipping through those times, I stay connected to God in a way I never knew was possible. When I don’t let my emotions dictate whether I declare Him faithful, it strengthens me. It strengthens my spirit. I grab onto my Solid Rock, and even when I feel the waves crashing around me, that Rock doesn’t move.

Of course this truth isn’t something I have perfected or will ever perfect. I still have times of being overwhelmed with the world. But I think that’s ok. It’s who I give those overwhelming issues and feelings to that matter. I’m just so excited that I have experienced the realness of worshipping my God on any day.

So regardless of the waves, I declare Him faithful.