From Worry to Worship
My oldest child has pointed out that I keep a large number of tabs open on my devices. He will kindly swipe them closed for me, but not without counting how many are simultaneously occupying the space. Turns out iPhones can hold open a triple digit number of tabs!
It may come as no surprise for me to admit I am bogged down by “open tabs” both on my phone and in my brain. Perhaps you can relate to these types of tabs---the unresolved pages of our lives that take up a great deal of storage. They tend to tally-up in our thoughts and present in the form of worries.
I have often viewed worries as a roadblock to worshipping God. They assume the space where we are meant to trust Him. There is not a simple “swiping up” feature in our brains to release the accumulated anxiety. Yet God invites us to release our worries up to Him.
The word worry comes from an Old English word, wrygen, meaning, “to strangle”. When we worry about our lives, we are, in a sense, “over-gripping” our thoughts. The posture in worry is one in which hands are closed, gripped tightly to the uncertainties in our midst.
The word worship comes from the Old English combination of the words, “worth” and “ship”. When we worship God, we are focused on His worthiness. Our posture in worshipping God is one in which hands are open, praising Him out of the certainty of who He is.
We experience worries as a roadblock to worship because they expose our worship of things other than God. When we over-grip our thoughts through worry, we have taken matters into our own hands. But no matter how tightly we grip, our hands are too weak. The Apostle Peter (who knew a thing or two about worries) invites us to “Humble ourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God.” (1 Peter 5:6) Upon acknowledging our need for God’s strong hands, we “cast all our anxieties on him, because he cares for us.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Could our worries, then, be more than a roadblock to worshipping God? What if instead, they are a pathway where we humbly walk away from the worries and toward worship? What if worries are an opportunity to loosen our grasp on our thought tabs and trust the strength of our Father?
His hands are strong. His hands shaped us and His hands keep us. His hands saved us when they were nailed to the cross on our behalf, freeing us to lift our hands and our worries to the God, who is worthy of our praise.
It may come as no surprise for me to admit I am bogged down by “open tabs” both on my phone and in my brain. Perhaps you can relate to these types of tabs---the unresolved pages of our lives that take up a great deal of storage. They tend to tally-up in our thoughts and present in the form of worries.
I have often viewed worries as a roadblock to worshipping God. They assume the space where we are meant to trust Him. There is not a simple “swiping up” feature in our brains to release the accumulated anxiety. Yet God invites us to release our worries up to Him.
The word worry comes from an Old English word, wrygen, meaning, “to strangle”. When we worry about our lives, we are, in a sense, “over-gripping” our thoughts. The posture in worry is one in which hands are closed, gripped tightly to the uncertainties in our midst.
The word worship comes from the Old English combination of the words, “worth” and “ship”. When we worship God, we are focused on His worthiness. Our posture in worshipping God is one in which hands are open, praising Him out of the certainty of who He is.
We experience worries as a roadblock to worship because they expose our worship of things other than God. When we over-grip our thoughts through worry, we have taken matters into our own hands. But no matter how tightly we grip, our hands are too weak. The Apostle Peter (who knew a thing or two about worries) invites us to “Humble ourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God.” (1 Peter 5:6) Upon acknowledging our need for God’s strong hands, we “cast all our anxieties on him, because he cares for us.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Could our worries, then, be more than a roadblock to worshipping God? What if instead, they are a pathway where we humbly walk away from the worries and toward worship? What if worries are an opportunity to loosen our grasp on our thought tabs and trust the strength of our Father?
His hands are strong. His hands shaped us and His hands keep us. His hands saved us when they were nailed to the cross on our behalf, freeing us to lift our hands and our worries to the God, who is worthy of our praise.
Chrissy Trapp
CHRIST THE KING MEMBER
CHRIST THE KING MEMBER
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