Mystery of Worship

I have no idea what you do when you have no clue to what is next or how to proceed.  I'd be willing to bet it's the same as me though.  Or more accurately, you and I are probably similar in what we don't do: identify the things of God that we love and tell Him about them.  Why is that?  Why is it that, when we feel like things around us are sinking, we refuse to cling to the only thing that isn't?  We look back to the very pain or anger or shame or hopelessness that got us here to begin with.  Or maybe we found ourselves in a situation that had very little to do with us.  Either way, we try to find a life preserver in the storm we are trying to weather.


I can think of plenty of examples in life that are like this, so I was going to try to think of some Bible verses that speak to this.  I didn't come back with verses, I came back with full books - namely Psalms.  This awesome book of worship seems to be a mix of awe-filled praise and desperation driven worship.  It's easy to worship when you're happy.  But when David goes through these continual trials of Saul seeking to kill him, I don't really understand fully why he worships.  Thus, we come to the mystery of worship.


Worship is not something we can force, it's a natural response to true awesomeness.  It is something we can seek out, though.  When pressed in on all sides, David sought out this awesomeness by intently focusing on God's attributes.  It was that simple.  Worship doesn't always seem like the most natural thing to pursue when we're being tried though.  The mystery to me is the effect it has on me, my attitude, and how I treat those around me afterward.  It gives me peace when there is chaos.  It calms my mind when it is going in a thousand different directions.  It makes me see how big God is and how He has everything under control when my problems seem like Godzilla stomping through the city that is my life.  Ok, that last one was a little silly, but you get the idea.  Worship is not only something that is good for us in the moment, it's as essential as the breath that we breathe.


I wish I had some amazing revelation about worship, but I don't.  I am simply someone who is in awe of God and amazed by how much worshiping him transforms my life especially in times of desperation.  I am eager to do more.