Worship

Job 1:20-21

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

In my walk with the Lord, I have come to understand that there is a difference between worship and rejoicing, just as there is a difference between happiness and joy. It took me having a personal experience with God and the challenges of life to come to the knowledge of this truth. 

What it was that made Job fall to the ground to worship God in the face of the very many and heavy calamities that befall him is what finding out, this for sure will definitely help us in our upright walk with the Lord. When we look through the personality of the man Job from Job 1:1-8, we will see a very upright man who has walked diligently with the Lord all of his life. His wealth and busy schedule never took the place of God in his life. He walked with the Lord so well that God Himself made a proud declaration over the life of this man called Job.

Another thing that we need to be mindful of is that, Job was not aware of all that was going on in heaven over his life. He didn't know that satan was on an evil mission over his life. But what I have learnt about this man Job is that no matter the level of calamity that befell him, He didn't hold God responsible for his misfortunes. We are all away that nothing happens without the knowledge of God, but how Job was able to worship God in the middle of all that happened to him is a factor that builds around a strong relationship and love that had developed between Job and God over a period of time. 

The strong and unwavering relationship that existed between Job and God was one characterized by TRUST. Job trusted God enough to understand that God will not allow this calamity to befall him if it was leading to nowhere. The calamity was painful no doubt; the Bible records that Job tore his cloths and shaved his head, but still he fell face down and worshiped.

The act of worship is not one characterized by our circumstances, it is not determined by the good or bad experiences we have, it is not subject to our ability. It is not just about the songs we sing in church or at home. But true worship is brought to play by the knowledge of Who we know God to be in our lives. You are able to worship God in all circumstances whether good or bad when you have developed a strong relationship with Him. Your walk with God determines how well you are able to worship God even when things are not working favourably for you.

The Bible says those who worship God, worship Him in truth and in spirit, this is so because worship to God is not determined by issues of the physical. But it is the bonding in the Spirit between God and His children that is expressed in worship. 

Job had learnt to bond with God over time, he had learnt to connect with God as he walked uprightly with Him diligently. And when those calamities befell him, it was easy to run to God to bond again with Him irrespective of what he was going through or whether or not God could have averted the situation. The initial focus for Job was not to know who was behind his problem or what could have caused the problem, but the dear need to bond with God even at that very dear time and the Bible said he worshiped. 

The test of true worship is when you have learnt to worship God in truth and in spirit irrespective of the situation you find yourself. Then you look beyond the challenges and struggles you are facing and you look to Jesus and just the knowledge of God in your life brings you to the point of worship. When you have grace the grace to truly worship God in all circumstances, your challenges are getting close to their expiry date because God will not allow you to trust Him in vain.

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