BE STRENGTHENED
“Oh, worship the King, all-glorious above,
Oh, gratefully sing His pow’r and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.”
These great lyrics were penned by Robert Grant in 1833 who was inspired by the writings of William Kethe’s summary of Psalm 104.1 The stanzas that follow are all about praise and worship of our Creator and King, the only one worthy of our adoration.
Many accounts in the Bible tell of men and women who fell down and worshipped God. One such account is in the book of Judges. Gideon was faced with the battle that God had carefully prepared him for in chapters 6-7. Just prior to the battle, God visited with Gideon and told him if he was afraid, he could go down to the Midianite camp and he would be strengthened. As this beautiful story goes, Gideon did go down to the camp, and there he heard a Midianite soldier discussing a dream that could only mean that God had delivered the Midianites into the hands of Gideon and the God of Israel. The Bible tells us in chapter 7, verse 15,
And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream
and its interpretation, that he worshipped.
I love that many other translations include the words “he bowed down and worshipped”. John McArthur says that a concise definition of worship is “all that we are, reacting rightly to all that He is.”
There is something about worship that takes us into the very presence of God and melts away every other thing that consumes our thoughts and our emotions. I like to think that Gideon was encouraged when he heard the dream, but he was strengthened when he bowed to worship. The fears that had consumed him – vanished. The doubts of a 300 man army going against an army of 135,000 – gone. What came about was the strength of the Lord in Gideons life. And that is precisely what God does for us when we bow down and worship Him.
All that we are: mind, body, soul, heart, emotions, and will . . .
responding rightly
To all that HE is: Holy, Righteous, Loving, Compassionate, Merciful, Powerful . . . GOD!
Why is worship important for the Christian? Why is the bowing of our hearts and souls to worship the King essential?
- Bowing or prostrating our hearts in worship signifies an inward condition of our hearts. Though we may not prostrate our bodies, (but you can), we prostrate our hearts in submission to who God is. Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
- We honor God with worship. When met with trusting God in the face of overwhelming circumstances, Abraham said that he would go and worship God with Isaac (Genesis 22:5). “Worship is not about giving God what I want to give him but about giving Him what He wants from me.” (quote from First Baptist, Spur Texas)2
- Finally, when we give Him what He wants from us, we submit ourselves rightly in service to the King. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
There are just times when we need God’s strengthening to give us power and moral character to do what God has asked of us.
Perhaps God has asked you to fight a battle also, or to confront an area of your life where you feel defeated. He is waiting for you to bow down in worship that you too may be strengthened by his might to respond rightly to all that He is and all that He will do.
BE STRENGTHENED!
How’s your faith right now? Do you need to accept God’s will? Are you questioning what His will is for your life? We urge you to peruse our website further, read our other blogs, or investigate the steps we recommend for getting closer to God. If you need more encouragement, please request our FREE e-Book, Encounters With God Interviews to read more about how people, like you, reached out to Him in prayer and changed their lives forever! The above reflection on living a Christian Life was submitted by Ginger Carruth Cooper who resides with her family in Gatlinburg, TN and attends Roaring Fork Baptist Church.
We hope you are ready to begin a new day with Jesus,
our Lord and Savior.
Bible References are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV)
unless otherwise stated.
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