Every Moment: An Act of Worship

Early this morning during my prayer and devotion time, I became increasingly aware that every moment can become an act of worship. Sometimes, I too easily believe that only intentional times of God-focused adoration encompass worship. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ultimate purpose for each of our lives is to worship God and bring Him glory. Even in seemingly uneventful moments we may accomplish that divine intention.

Do you ever sense what I sometimes call a “God-wink?” The moment when heaven somehow touches earth with grace, beauty, and truth? When you feel God’s presence or delight? Is it in the face of a child or the color of a sunset? Do you feel it as stars boast in the blanket of night? Maybe the gentle purr of kitten or the wet kiss of a dog brings a sense of God’s presence on earth. Perhaps your heart is stirred by artistic excellence.

Was it by accident that God gave Moses such detailed instructions regarding the embellishments of material and design for the tabernacle? Here God himself would come and dwell among His people. Nothing could be too extravagant and yet so amazingly simple. When elements of heaven and earth united, God came. He dwelt.

Worship includes any moment when we recognize and acknowledge God. Even the tiniest of moments may surprise us with His presence.

“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Ezekiel 37:27

God Comes

Ezekiel speaks of a time when God would no longer choose a tabernacle or temple built with human hands. He would dwell by His Spirit within those who offered themselves as a living habitation. Then every moment would contain the potential of becoming a sacred moment of His presence. A long time ago, God chose a portable “tent.” Then an extravagant temple. Now, He dwells in us. How amazing! God with us!

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.“
Psalm 139:16

Think about it! Every day of our lives God not only saw but recorded in the books of heaven. Before our first heartbeat, before a breath was on our lips, God “laid out” His perfect plan for our lives. That plan included His holy presence dwelling in us.

In “God-wink” moments, we remember. In “God-wink” moments, we sense His presence in us, with us, and for us, leading us to a place of worship. At any moment, we are drawn into an fresh awareness of His worth-ship — into a holy act of worship.

Beauty

Beauty and color invite us to pause in a “God-wink” moment. The proud prance of a horse, the symphony of bird song, the fleeting flight of a butterfly, the iridescent glow of feathers, all cause us to pause in a moment of worship to the Creator of all things.

Waves crashing against rock, the heart stopping thunder of an imminent storm, majestic mountain peaks piercing the sky all remind us of how small we are and how unimaginably immense God is. And in that moment, we worship. The scent of fresh spring rain or the biting frost of winter, we worship. In the unrestrained laughter of children and the comradery of long-time friends, we worship. Again and again, we are swept into divine acts of worship as God reveals Himself among us.

In these mundane, everyday moments, we pause. Here and there, if but for a millisecond, time seems to stand still. And this becomes in a precious moment — an act of worship.

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139:17

Lead Me

In these unintentional spaces of time, we move away from earth’s clutter and work’s worry to fully appreciate Him who graciously gives life.

In all honesty, I have felt discouraged lately. I have had to withdraw from many activities I once felt were my greatest acts of worship and devotion. The circumstances of life have required that I set aside many areas of service which most people would call active “ministry.” I have adopted a much different focus and pace. Change carries an element of sadness — a mourning of loss and an apprehension of what might await. I struggle to know where or how to fit into God’s present plan.

Perhaps you face similar challenges or face an unknown future. How reassuring! God saw this moment from millennium past. He has prepared us for this new now in time. So, we capture the moments of today as an act of worship to the One who knows all, and sees all, and has a perfect plan for us all. Today, it is enough to rest and to be still (Psalm 46:10).

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23-24

In the resting and stillness, in the knowing that He will ever be God, all anxious thoughts fade as He leads us into HIs everlasting way.

Prayer

Father, forgive my anxious thoughts. May I rest in this moment as my true act of worship. I release false and unrealistic expectations of what I should be or ought to be doing. May my heart delight in the faint whispers of heaven rising above the clamor of lesser things. May I delight in knowing that You have given every moment as a precious gift — a gift that causes my thoughts to soar heavenward and my heart to rest in the framework of Your love. Yes, Lord, take my hand and lead me in the way everlasting. Lord, may I sense Your presence today in the fragments of time. You delight to reveal yourself in unexpected and life-giving ways. “There (and here) your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:10).
Amen.

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