In Spirit and Truth

"Yet a time is coming and has now come

when worshipers will worship

the Father in spirit and truth,

for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

God is spirit, 

and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

John 4:23-24

The weight of the obligation weighed heavily upon her as she went through her day.  It was Wednesday and everyone expected her to attend services tonight, but she was tired.  The stress of the day felt like gravity had just increased it's force, pushing her down toward earth.  What she really desired to do was go home and rest, taking some time to reflect on all the good that God was doing in her life in order to refocus her mind.  (Philippians 4:8)  The guilt of letting her friends down, however, drove her toward church as she ended her day.  Her heart was weary and the joy was gone.

I don't know about you, but I tend to put pressure on myself to do things that I think others expect me to do.  It could be to teach Sunday School, participate in every church function, or show up each Sunday morning with a smile on my face.  Other times I think church is the only place where I can serve God and show Him how much I love Him.  The thing is, my spiritual act of worship is not what happens within the four walls of the building where my congregation meets.  My spiritual act of worship is in offering myself as a living sacrifice. 

Here's what Paul teaches about worship as translated in The Message. "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You'll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (Romans 12:1-2)

If I want to worship God as Jesus said, in spirit and truth, I must leave behind the idea that worship takes place in a certain place.  Instead, I can think of everything I do as an opportunity to praise and glorify God.  In order to do this, though, I will need to change the way I think.

Wholeheartedly

Recently I watched one of our cats, Midnight, "stalking" a gecko through the sliding glass door.  He was thoroughly engrossed in his mission, letting nothing distract him.  In contrast, Kale, our orange Tabby is pretty skittish due to his roots as a wild, street cat.  When he spots a bird or bug on the other side of the window, his interest is heightened, but he is always aware of his surroundings.  Kale never completely gives himself over to the hunt because he's always watching his back: His fear hampers his ability to hunt as he was created to do.

Fear does the same thing for me: It holds me back from completely embracing the mission God has for my life.  When I think What if I fail?  or What will people think? or Why would anyone listen to me? then I am letting fear rule me.  Accepting God's calling on my life means I will drop the fear and doubt, turn toward my Father and let Him give me a new perspective.

His point of view will let me see myself  the way He sees me.   Instead of thinking I'm entitled to talk down about myself, I will understand that as a part of God's creation, I am valued and precious.  Consequently, to show respect for God I must esteem myself.  Once I accept myself the way I am, I am free to worship God without reservation in the way I live my life.

Where once I went through the motions of dispensing a positive word to a friend in distress, I will find God's truth flowing from my mouth in love.   Where I used to do just what I needed to do to fulfill the requirements of my job, I will adopt a new-found zeal for excellence in all I do.  Where I used to let my feelings dictate my attitude, I will find my focus on God to override any negative mind-set.

To worship God in spirit and truth, I must let go of fear and embrace the life that God has graciously given to me.

Sincerely

Have you ever said you would help someone, but when the time came to fulfill your promise, your heart was just not in it?  This has happened to me many times.  It seems that I was more concerned with appearing helpful than in actually being helpful.

I may be able to bluff my way through life in relation to other people, but I can't fool God.  He knows when I'm genuine and when I'm playing games.  He knows when I'm authentically hurting and when i'm putting on a front that all is well despite the pain inside.  He knows when I truly don't have time to do something and when I'm just making excuses because I'm afraid to try.

To give my life as an act of worship, I must drop the show and begin to apply honesty in my dealings with God.  He knows everything about me: my bizarre thoughts, my weird ways, my quirky practices and my deepest fears.  There is nothing I could reveal to God that would surprise Him.  He is before me and behind me.  There is no place I can go to hide from God.  He knows me intimately.  (Psalm 139)

Given that He is so familiar with all my ways, attempting to hide things from Him or put up pretenses before Him is an exercise in futility: It can't be done.  It's kind of like trying to hide in a glass house.

In the same way that I feel betrayed when my husband tries to hide something from me, my relationship with God is stunted when I pretend with Him.  He desires that I share my innermost thoughts, no matter how bad, hurtful or destructive they may seem to me.  God can handle my honesty, and there's no better way to strengthen my relationship with Him.

To worship God in spirit and truth, I must drop the act and trust God enough to let Him see the real me.

Always

I have been watching the life of a woman who is going through every mother's worst nightmare:  Her 15-year-old daughter was abducted from her own bedroom and disappeared without a trace.  The captor is in jail, refusing to talk, and the mother is desperate to find her only child.  After 10 weeks, she still searches.

During one of the darkest times anyone could imagine, you would think her thoughts would be consumed with her daughter and what she might be enduring.  Instead, this woman's faith leads her to praise God, thanking Him for His steadfast love, His ever-present power, His overwhelming mercy.  She gives Him all the glory for her ability to get up each day and move forward.  

This amazing woman of God reminds me of Job, who after losing his entire family and all his wealth in one day said, "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21b KJV)

If they can praise God even under such horrible circumstances, can I not thank Him even if I can't pay my bills?  If they can praise God in the midst of darkness, can I not adore Him even when I feel down and out?  If they can praise God while they suffer, can I not honor Him when tomorrow looms as an unknown chasm?  

Nineteenth Century writer and speaker Hannah Whitall Smith said, "Nothing can separate you from His love, absolutely nothing. . . God is enough for time, and God is enough for eternity.  God is enough!"  If He is all I need, then nothing in this life is able to conquer me.  The only way I suffer defeat is when I give myself over to the suffering, the misery or the hurts.  When hard times come it is necessary for me to willfully and purposefully keep my focus on the One who is my all in all and to resist falling victim to my circumstances.

To worship God is spirit and truth, I must turn my attention away from what is difficult and toward Who is sufficient.

Church is not the only place that I can worship God.  When I feel its my duty to go to church, or when I think I must in order to have a blessed life, I can instead learn to worship Him in spirit and truth.  This means, wherever I go and whatever I do I can accept whatever God gives me, practice honesty in my relationship with Him, and always focus on the good God is doing all around me.  When I adopt these customs, my life will be a living sacrifice to the One I love.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can cease to think of worship as a ritual or duty that I must do as a Christian.

How do I keep God out of my head by pretending my thoughts line up with His?

When can I do a better job of sharing my fears, hurts and disappointments with my Father?