Worship: (n) the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.
I also love to write. Not many people know this part of me at my school (well I mean.. I write a blog so some people might have picked up on it, but who knows?). I've been told I'm good at it. But I'm nothing compared to one of my best friends Sage, who is an English major, and her writing is something I never want to stop reading.
I love to dance. Very few people know this about me. I have been told multiple times people are very surprised when they see me dance, to see that I'm actually pretty good at it. But I'm nothing compared to my other best friend Megan, who is in a number of dance groups on campus, has been dancing most of her life, and dances with a joy that is contagious.
What I love most about these people is that they take some (they have many more) of their greatest talents and use them to worship God.
Hannah uses her music to worship God, and not even only when she's singing praise and worship music. Any time she's singing or playing, she's worshiping God. She gets to make this beautiful noise and share it with the world, and it's all because of God. When I was younger and played Viola well, I remember thinking that violas allowed humans to make a sound that is much more beautiful than we ever could have done on our own. When I was playing, and when Hannah's playing, we get to say "Hey! Listen to this! This is our God showing some of his wonderfulness through us. Let us show you how beautiful He is." While praising God saying "Thank you so much for giving me something I love, thank you for showing this to me. Thank you for this talent. Thank you for speaking through me in the most incredible of ways."
Sage has told me numerous times that writing to her is worship. She puts it much more eloquently than I can:
"God has been likened to an author throughout history, and it is not hard to see why, for it is God that creates the stories of every being that has ever lived. Being a writer has led me to encounter and explore new depths of God that I had never considered before. Each time I write, I glimpse a minuscule fraction of what it must be like for God to craft a brilliantly singular plan for each person that breathes. It is a humbling and overwhelming gift to be able to imitate such ability...Our existence is but one small facet of God’s great story, and this tale we are currently living in is one that will not conclude until Christ returns again. We have been redeemed and shown how to live, but there is still more to come. Even so, we know how this story will end. Love has the final say. Jesus has already won the war, even though it seems like evil is triumphant each day. There is a final victory coming, and God knows when that will occur. When it does, the original Author will answer all questions, tie up all loose ends, and resolve all strife—just as simple humans like you and me strive to emulate at the conclusion of a powerful tale crafted by our imaginations."
It has become clear to me in the past few months especially, how wonderful worshiping through dance is. A few weeks ago three of my best friends were in a dance show here on campus that I had the privilege of going to. I love watching dance anyways, but during this show, I watched as many of the dancers were filled with joy (genuine joy, not just pasting a smile on their faces (which it great too)) as they danced for their Lord. They too were taking something they love, and that God has given talent in, and giving it back to Him.
For me, I honestly think that my greatest talent is loving people. I love everyone I meet in some way, and even the people I do not get along with, I am usually able to find something I love about them. Is that because of who I am? Most definitely not. I'm actually kind of a horrible person at heart. That is God working in me and through me. And I love doing it. I love letting God show people His love through me (I personally don't think I was the smartest choice for this but hey. I'm just trying to follow directions). And honestly, because I know who I am on the inside (not. pretty.), I know one of the few motivations I have to try to find something to love in those people who bring me great anger is because I adore God so much (look to the def. at the top). Loving the people who are God's creation is to me, one of my greatest expressions of my love for Him. I could go on for hours about this, but I think I'll leave it there.
Singing and playing music, writing, dancing, loving people... These are all ways that we can worship God. And He loves all of it. You know those times where you're really excited about something, and you go to tell or show someone else, and they don't care? Or when you draw your parents a picture as a child and you're so excited to show them, but they kind of smile and put it to the side, and act that it isn't that important? That's never how it is with God. We come to Him with these things we love, and things we've prepared for Him, and He's always overjoyed to watch. He's always proud when we are trying to display our love for Him, no matter how it is. When I was first writing this, I was trying to think what I thought *my* greatest talent was, and when I came to "loving people" I almost instantly wrote it off... Loving people is nothing like singing, or writing, or dancing... But that's kind of the point. I express my adoration for Christ by doing something I love to do, that He has allowed me to do, and it is so different from the other things I've talked about. We all have something we're good at, and that we love to do and the amazing thing is, we can use all of those things to worship God. He loves all of it, and He accepts all of it.
So I guess... Never feel like you can't do what you love to do because you feel like it doesn't give glory to God (other than those obvious examples that just popped to your head if you're anything like me). Just remember that those things you love to do are from God, and remember to do it to please Him. God loves watching us love something just as much as we do.
It doesn't have to take a ton of work or displeasure to worship God. And I think that's pretty cool.
