How Worshipping God Changes Us
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:1-2,4
Worshipping God on Sunday morning, singing, praying, and listening to the sermon is considered by Christians to be worship. The definition of worship is: “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.” When I was a young boy I idolized Sandy Koufax the professional baseball pitcher back in the sixties. I played baseball and I was a pitcher in the Little League, and I tried to mimic Sandy Koufax. The same thing happens when we worship God: We want to be like God in our minds and hearts. Therefore, we become more Christ-like when we worship the Lord, which includes Sunday morning worship service, praising and thanking him, meditating on God and his Word, and striving to walk in this world as Jesus walked. In addition, God is molding us to have the mind of Christ, which means we are becoming Christ-like through the divine power of God.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). For everyone who accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior will receive the Holy Spirit, and are predestined to conform to the image of His Son. As we worship the Lord, God is changing us to the image of his Son, renewing our minds to the mind of Christ and changing our hearts. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God will use everything in our lives, whether good or bad, to mold us to be Christ-like. This will happen only if we serve the Lord with hearts of love, because unless we have enough love and faith to serve the Lord, God will not be able to mold us. He molds us through our lives as we attempt to walk as Jesus walked. For example if you want to hit a baseball like your favorite professional baseball player, you have to get in the batter’s box and start swinging. Only then can the coach mold you to be a better hitter.
It is important to understand that we don’t change ourselves, God changes us as we do our best to obey his good and pleasing will. We start walking in obedience to his will, following our Spirit-controlled consciences, and our minds and hearts begin to change to be Christ-like. This is a life-long process which is a blessing, because this means that we are continually becoming more Christ-like. The more Christ-like we become the better our lives will be, and the more love, peace, joy, confidence, security, and rest we will have for our souls.
Today worship the Lord through meditation, praise, and thankfulness, because it will help you to be more Christ-like, and help you to experience a better day. Remember that today God will use everything that happens to mold you to be more Christ-like. Meditate on this, and develop a strong motivation to be more Christ-like, and to have the mind and heart of Jesus.
Let’s Pray: Lord, open my mind and heart so that I will desire to be more like Christ as I worship you throughout the day. Fill my heart with praise for you and give me a truly thankful heart. In Jesus name, Amen