I want to wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving season. I pray it is filled with reminiscing about how God’s hand and influence in your life produced His will resulting in joy and abundant celebration! He is truly a good God.
I want to begin with a question. Have you ever wondered why God requires our worship? Exodus 20:5 is a very strong verse where God says, “I am a jealous God.” While in a hotel room praying for my service the Lord began to speak to me concerning this topic as I had asked Him previously about it and had been meditating on questions concerning it. Remember God does not mind questions, for when we inquire of Him it brings revelation, identity, and fulfillment.
God is complete in and of Himself. He needs nothing and requires neither aid nor support. He is all-sufficient and requires nothing to exist. Romans 11:36 says, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” God does not need words of affirmation; this is not one of His love languages as God is full and complete love. There is no measuring His love as it is always constant and abundantly eternal. He is not insecure nor in need of man reminding Him of how great and awesome He is. So why does He instruct us to worship Him and Him alone? He is not narcissistic or full of Himself. Only man would in all his pride require others to constantly verbalize and proclaim his greatness, as King Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 3:1-7 and yet God, again in His infinite wisdom directs us to worship Him, why?
Worship is an act that brings awareness and focus. It centers the heart and silences all voices concerning every issue. The reason we start church services with praise and worship is that Psalms 100:2 says, “Serve/worship the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.” Worship unifies the gathering of people and fuses hearts and minds together with one goal, which is to focus on God and make Him big in our eyes over every issue and situation that we may be facing. It prepares the heart for receiving. This is key and I want you to make note of this.
God, our creator, understood that man was made with a need of dependency and would require constant reinforcement and encouragement of purpose. The reason God wants you to worship Him and not a man or an image is that He knows that flesh and stone are unable to supply what is needed for the situation or opposition you are facing. God wants you to be fully supplied and able to be as He is, requiring no aid or support from any natural supply. As an example, this is why we tithe and give offerings, they are acts of worship that reinforce the heart and solidify unbroken focus revealing God’s character and will. This enables us to accomplish the task at hand. Tithing declares your source and giving declares your trust.
When we worship God, which is the appropriate response to God revealing Himself to us, the floodgates of promise, protection, and power are released filling our lives with all that is required for breakthrough and deliverance. God said it to me this way, when life goes down, hands go up!
We all know that when someone gives you something, the polite response is to say thank you. Worship releases supply and initiates an attitude of thanksgiving. We don’t thank God when we see supply, restoration, or deliverance, but instead, by faith, we know that our worship changed the course of our situation and brought about the answer or supply.
I want to reference again Psalms 100:4-5. I believe this is a perfect illustration. It reads “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” I want you to see that God is good, He is mercy, and His truth is inexhaustible.
When we worship God, magnifying Him above the attack of the enemy there will be a supply worthy of a response. Thank you, God!
God’s supply is seen in goodness. God’s goodness leads to repentance or a changing of the mind; it is a perspective change. Where you could not see a way out or a solution, God’s goodness brings awareness of the supply given in Christ both for your salvation and for your situation.
God’s supply is seen in mercy. Mercy is God holding back that which you deserve and generously supplying aid and support. Mercy is God’s never-ending desire to help you no matter your current position or condition. His mercy is new every morning and together with His goodness they constantly pursue you.
God’s supply is seen in truth. Truth is the only prerequisite that God requires for your deliverance and complete freedom from all torment and fear. This is why the devil works so hard on presenting new formulas of truth that are not based on God’s word, but on the approval of man and human opinion. These are illusions that only oppress and bring you into greater bondage.
True worship will leave you with a positive perspective of your future, knowing you are helped and that you have been truly set free. When you experience such factors, thanksgiving will erupt from your lips and your heart will be filled with great joy!