I love this picture of worship, especially in the posture of the child playing Mary. Thank you to  Kodiak Baptist Church in Alaska. She seems to know; she is expectant; she is wondering; she is worshiping.

I am so excited about worship! For me, this is new.

Worshiping is living expectancy. Worship is trusting God to show up.

Worship is being captivated all over again by the awe of Christmas, like the shepherds.

“And suddenly
there was with the angel
a multitude of heavenly host
praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those wit whom he is pleased!'”
Luke 2:13 and 14

The multitude was thousands of angels. Thousands sent by God (Luke 2:9 and 15) to communicate to the shepherds. God communicates in BIG ways!

The shepherds responded,  “And they went with haste …” (Luke 2:16) “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God [worshiping] for all they had heard and seen …” (Luke 2:20)

Coming and going, the shepherds responded to God.

“Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and into his courts!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!”
(Psalm 96:7-9)

What a wonderful definition of worship – ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
Look and notice. Listen to the familiar and once again be in awe. Be amazed by God’s creation.
Expect to see God in his words.

Twenty of us walked through the water in our knee boots to the barge that took us and our 50 pound suitcases from Harvester Island across Uyak Bay to the 9-passenger Cessna that would fly us back to civilization. The Doxology happened. We lifted our voices to God. We lifted our voices in thanksgiving. We lifted our voices in worship. We lifted our voices in awe of all we experienced of God’s creation.

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above the Heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

For me worship has been a journey.  And I’m quite sure the journey will continue. Being on Harvester Island in Alaska for a week was a key chapter. God taught me worship through his amazing animal creation. The Orcas, the seals, the whales, the deer, even the tiny Ermines spoke of God’s amazing creation; and I worshiped.

“The basic reality of God is plain enough.
Open your eyes and there it is!
By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created,
people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see:
eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being”
(Romans 1:19 and 20, The Message; bolding mine.)

 

As a college student, in the church I attended the large choir processed every Sunday singing the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy”. It was a previous chapter in my worship journey. I’ve taken the freedom to add another verse to Reginald Heber’s words.

Holy, holy, holy, my creator, redeemer
Jesus came, I praise your name
This Christmas-tide, amen.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God, my Father
Rescuer, my shepherd, forevermore, Amen.

My friend Carolyn texted about her worship journey “… grasping worship in a new depth. …. It can take so many forms, songs of praise, a quiet hush of pure awe with a heart that feels like it’s bursting … at the amazement of God, overwhelmed by creation or acts of love … I don’t think we will really grasp it this side of heaven, but someday … an amazing thought.”

Worship is mystery. It will take as many forms as people who ascribe to God the glory due his name.

Worship is a growing experience.

Worship is being captivated by God.

Worship is expectancy – expecting to see God in his creation.

May your worship this Christmas offer you many way to experience God.

Do you have children in your life? I read this book to our GRANDS via Zoom last night for the second Christmas in a row. It will keep them spell-bound and teach them about expectancy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  And may your Christmas celebration be filled with the same awe, the same wonder, the same expectancy that the shepherds experienced when they heard about the birth of Jesus.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, December 2021

 

 

 

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