Monday Reflection – March 23, 2020
Monday Reflection – March 23, 2020
The Drive to Worship God
You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. Nehemiah 9:6
When God created humanity, he created us with certain drives to sustain our existence. Alexander Maslov identified the biological drives such as air, thirst, hunger, bowel and sex. The sociologists identified sociological drives, such as love, security, and belongingness. None of these theorists have considered the greatest drive. I join Chuck Smith in declaring that the most important drive of all is the drive to worship. We were created to worship; it is innate within our very being. No wonder David said, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul after you O God, my soul thirsts for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1). The truth is, if we do not worship God, we worship something. Everyone has a god that we worship. Worship is as essential for our existence as breathing.
In the context of today’s text, the Israelites had returned to their homeland after their exile and Nehemiah directed them in one of the most incredible building projects in history. The gates were secured and the walls put back in place with impressive speed. The surrounding nations and enemies were afraid for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of Yahweh. A transition of government was enacted, and a list of exiles was reviewed and registered. Soon after the resettlement, an assembly was called for one purpose: to read God’s law and put his statues back in place in their individual and collective lives.
In today’s text, the people have gathered again and this time they were grieving in confession of their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. They spent a quarter of a day reading from the Book of the Law and another quarter making confession and worshipping God. Indeed, genuine confession of sins always comes from a heart that respects God and wants to honour him. Here the people declare the lordship and wonder of God. We stand in awe of our magnificent universe; we observe the planets in their orbits around the sun; we enjoy the phases of the moon; and we probe the skies and marvel at the myriad of galaxies. Sadly, some people become irrational and stop at this point and begin to worship the sun, moon, planets and stars. What is rational is for us to look at creation and declare “That is the creation of an omnipotent, amazing God.” Worship of God is not only the highest need of humanity, but our ultimate purpose. We were created for God’s good pleasure.
In the midst of the fear, panic, confusion and distress that has overtaken the world due to COVID-19, I charge us to look to God and worship him. There is not a better antidote than this. Let’s lift us voices declaring that God is God alone, creator of earth and heaven with omnipotent power to make all things new. May God give us eyes to see his hand in all the crises of the world, hearts to believe that he remains in charge, and lips to declare his praise and power!Jermaine Gibson
TO WORSHIP YOU I LIVE – ISRAEL & NEW BREED