Everyday Worship – Part 1
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of October 31, 2021
In mid-October, our Lord revealed a Word to me that "everyday worship is very strategic for life." So, I began to search it out; and this is what I believe He would like to share:
Beginning with definitions, the word, everyday, according to Webster’s, is an adjective that means “routinely.” Everyday is also a compound word, comprised of “every” and “day.”
Every means “without exception” or “complete.” It’s root word, ever, means “always” in reference to time and way. Vine’s Dictionary defines ever as “at all times…on all occasions…continuous…perpetually…successive occurrences…unbroken…for ever and ever…unto all the ages.” Ever is also a root word of “everlasting,” which means eternal and can reference our future. Interestingly, as we look further in Webster’s, we find that eV is an abbreviation for “electron volt,” an obvious reference to power.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV reminds us that "…the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."
Moving onward, the word, day, according to Webster’s, can reference the light of day, the time of day or a specific period, such as an age. It can mean “the time established by usage or law for work, school or business.” Day can reference “conflict and contention” as in “played hard and won the day.” It can reference mood or attitude in regards to “seemingly endless” or long days, or “an indefinite number of successive days.” It can even reference a “period of rotation of a planet.”
The Word I believe our Lord is revealing to us in these definitions is that if you desire to power through your days on earth with the eternal life-victory of Heaven, it will require continuous, wholehearted worship unto God. In this attitude of worship, God will bring the completion of His divinely-desired (and designed) outcome in abundance to fulfill His promises to us.
This, then, begs the question, “What is worship?”
Worship is both a noun and a verb. The Tyndale Bible Dictionary makes it succinct by saying that worship is an “expression of reverence and adoration of God.” Tyndale goes on to stress that worship is not confined to physical buildings, because we are the building, the vessel, in which the Spirit of Christ, our New Jerusalem, dwells.
Not only is worship not confined to church buildings, it is not confined to what we may think of as traditional in expression. I love what Vine’s Dictionary has to say, which is that worship:
…is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment…to serve, do service to… (Acts 17:25).
So, the short of this is that all the ways in which we serve God in truth and Spirit is considered worship. This includes our work of any kind when we do it unto our Lord. It includes speaking life-giving words over ourselves and others. It includes remembrances and appreciation of God-given deliverance into promises fulfilled. It includes individual and corporate celebration, even as a nation. It includes intentional efforts in intimate relationship with God, such as prayer, Bible reading and operating in the gifts God gives us.
When we worship in spirit and truth, we are not only honoring God, we are exercising our faith, which invites an increase of God’s grace of eternal life into our souls (John 4:24, 3:6, 6:63). Active faith is movement, and movement is a sign of life itself. We are, in essence, the church being built by His life-giving Spirit, being made more fit in character by His fruit of Spirit, which pours out of us to build outwardly (1 Pet 2:5).
So, we see here that worshipping God is cyclical. Jesus, whose Spirit dwells in us as Holy Spirit, can pour out worship continually through us, like a river, as we are yielded to Him. As we humble ourselves unto Him, we will experience His glory, which is translated as worship in Luke 14:10 KJV. This is the kind of worship that we give back to God.
In this way, worshippers demonstrate Godliness as living sacrifices unto our Lord, who receive a new, constant flow of life (Romans 12:1, 1 Tim 2:10). In this way, we are blessed for our devotion, reverence, and awe of Him.
Tyndale’s confirms this by saying:
One’s life can be enhanced by loving and serving God (Deut 30:15-20, 1 Pet 3:8-12), by experiencing God’s deliverance (Isa 38:16), and by receiving divine blessings (Matt 5:3-12).” These acts, like praising God, are acts of worship. They are cyclical and life-giving because they honor God, our life-giver, as well as others. This eternal “life is abundant (John 10:10), enlightened (John 8:12), free and satisfied (John 10:9), victorious (Romans 6:6-14), full of peace and joy (Romans 5:1-11), inexhaustibly refreshed (John 4:13-14; 7:37-38) and immortal (John 5:24, 1 Cor 15:51-57).
Friends, when we model God’s way of life "...the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with" us (Phil 4:9 AMPC).
So, pray with me if you will…
Dear Lord,
"Let my heart be sound (sincere and wholehearted and blameless) in Your statutes..." (Ps 119:80 AMPC). I invite You to bring me increasingly into Your light of truth, love, and abundant life as I continue to submit my heart to You in true worship.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Amen.
Friends, there’s more to this Word from our Lord. So, join me next week for Part 2 of Everyday Worship.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
Originally published Sunday, 31 October 2021.
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