He is Worthy

In the Christmas Movie, Elf, Buddy asks Jovi out for a date by saying, “I really wanted to see you, and, and I think you're beautiful. And I, um, feel really warm when I am around you? And, um, my tongue swells up?”

This remind me of the first time I saw my wife. She was wearing an orange dress. Let's just say it was pretty impressive. Her hair was like nothing I'd ever seen, and I kept thinking that I could fall right into her eyes and get lost forever.

My first reaction was to say to myself, “What do I look like? Do I have any mints?” You know how we do it. I tried to play it cool, but my guts were in knots.

So what does this have to do with worship?

When we read of men in the Bible encountering God, we see a similar pattern of behavior, multiplied to the nth degree. Isaiah's response is recorded in Isaiah 6:5: “Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”--Amp.

In the presence of greatness, we realize our own inadequacies. This is a great start for the person desiring to worship God.

True worship cannot happen by accident. We must know who we are worshiping. If we get the smallest glimpse of the majesty of the Creator of the universe, we will be humbled and awed by his power and might. If we are not in awe of our Creator, why worship Him? We worship Him because he IS awesome, and because He alone is worthy of our praise.

Our heavenly Father, however, does not want us groveling before Him like beaten dogs. The enemy wants that. Following him always leads to slavery and destruction.

So then, what is the proper balance?

Having children has taught me that you can rarely be friends with your kids. You can be friendly, but you must be “the dad” at all times. Kids need this. They need to have boundaries and they need to learn respect. I do not allow my kids to call me “dude,” or to speak to me like they would speak to their buddies. If they shush each other, I'll tell them it's rude to do that. If they shush me....well, let's not even go there.

God loves us and desires to commune with us. He wants to walk with us and guide us. He wants us to boldly come before His throne, but let's remember that the throne is one of grace. We don't deserve to be there. He meets with us at the seat of mercy, not the seat of obligation or friendship. Though He calls us friend, let's remember that He is our Lord.

The more we learn about our great and awesome God, the more we should respect His presence. We should be amazed that He desires our prayer, our attention, our submission, our supplications, and our worship. He doesn't need any of it, but He loves us and wants to build and strengthen His relationship with us.

Francis Chan says this: “The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time. He treasures us and anticipates our departure form this earth to be with Him—and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by,” (from Crazy Love, pg. 61).

This attitude should not be as familiar as it is to us, but we are all there to some degree. We must try to keep in our mind that God is awesome. He is Mighty, and Just, and Faithful and True. He is our constant help in time of trouble. He is the King of Israel, the King of Kings, the Son of David, the Son of Man and the Son of God. He alone is worthy. He is able. He is a conqueror. He is the Lion of Judah, the Holy One and the Just, the great I AM. He is Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Emmanuel, God with us. The head over all things, the chief cornerstone, the Bright and Morning Star.

He loves us because He is a friend of sinners, and because He is love, and because He wants to, and because that's who He is.

That should inspire some worship.