Culture Can’t Handle the Weight of your Worship, but Jesus can. 

What is worship? It is, yes, Sunday morning praise and worship, but it is also the act of obedience to God’s will, the submission of self-will, and the aligning of your heart to the moral compass of the living God. It is the profound choice of leaving behind this world and living in anticipation of the “not yet.” 

“You must not have any other God but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” Exodus 20 3 – 5

Where do you place your worship? Is it in a culture that glorifies self-worship, relationships, and earthly possessions? These are not inherently bad, but if you prioritize them over your worship of the living God, they become idols in your life, holding you captive to a worldly identity rather than your identity as a follower of Christ. Remember, these idols are fleeting, but your relationship with God is eternal. 

How can we ensure that we worship God first over idols in our lives? Here are a few simple questions to help us discern where our worship takes priority: What do I spend the most time on? What do I think about the most? And a few straightforward thoughts to help us stand firm in our worship of God first: God is the source of all good things. God is the only one who can truly satisfy our hearts. Prayerfully ponder the statements below: 

-              Lord, Jesus, help reveal anything in my life that I have placed above, or that has more priority over my relationship with you. 

-              Lord, Jesus, help me align my will with the will your Father has for me. Where I lack submission, plain and boldly reveal it to me, and have family stand with me as I make any changes for your glory in my life.  

-              Lord, as you instructed in Exodus, let me have no gods or idols over you. Allow me the strength to align and order my life with you as the cornerstone and everything else following accordingly.  

Did anything ping at your heart? Perhaps a job or relationship. It is easy to do; you love your spouse or career, and they are both excellent, but it is when we place expectations on our identity in a relationship or on a job they are not meant to hold that weight. Ultimately, those relationships will crumble when we put the weight only God can have. They can’t live up to your expectations; only God can. They can’t read your mind; only God can. Be proud of what you have accomplished in the career you built from the ground up. It is through His grace and glory, but when it is your identity, your source of happiness, it will never be enough. It is never meant to be enough; only God can be enough. He is and will always be enough. 

Culture, the world around us, the media, and influences will scream at you to put yourself first and place all worship in things, activities, or roles that make you the happiest for the moment. We oversell self-care only to find the worn-out feeling thirty minutes after leaving the spa. We don’t need a self-care appointment. It is the living water that only God can provide through his Son.  

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14

Drink from the living water, worship the living God first, and watch the trickle-down effect in all areas of your life; when Jesus first fills you, you can then fulfill others, including yourself. 

Jesus is enough today, yesterday, but most importantly, tomorrow. 

- Nichole