Seeing Rightly
Worship is more about seeing rightly than it is about singing robustly. An acknowledgement of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13) Without vision, without “seeing” well, we can not hope to worship well.
And isn’t this true about our lives, as well?
Let me explain.
I wear glasses. Not just your regular glasses. As I have gotten older (sigh) there are layers to my vision that just don’t focus very well. Far away. Mid-way. Close up. Without my glasses, every angle of my life is just…well….blurry.
Now, I can see without them. I can make out shapes and forms and if I squint really hard, I can even read a bit. But “seeing” this way is pretty exhausting…and it’s pretty prone to error, too. Without my glasses, I just don’t see well enough to catch all the details that are right in front of my face.
And I confess, I am a detail girl. I don’t wanna miss a thing.
I don’t want to miss a single moment of His goodness, His poured out grace, His sweet mercy, His good gifts.
Nope. Perhaps it’s selfish (not really), but I truly don’t want to miss a single thing that He is doing – in and around me. It all matters. He matters. And what He puts His hand and spirit upon matters. And like those tri-focal lenses I willingly put upon my face each day, I want all the layers of His working and will to be crystal clear. Now, He may choose not to reveal it, but by-golly, I don’t want to miss it because I was incapable of discerning it.
When we “see” rightly, we no longer look down through eyes of judgement, but look up and see one another through His eyes of love.
When we “see” rightly, we worship the Lord of lords and King of kings, not out of a sense of obligation, but out of a sense of adoration.
When we “see” rightly, we serve wholeheartedly, not because we want something in return, but because He already gave everything we need.
When we “see” rightly, we love well, not because we are compelled by emotion, but we are compelled by devotion – to following hard after Jesus in every aspect of our lives.
Worship is more about seeing rightly than it is about singing robustly – in church, in relationships, as well as in life. Yes. I really think this is true. Worship is a lifestyle of responding to the One who is always inviting. Seeing Him at work and moving our hands and feet to dance in step with His rhythm and grace.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to belt out a line of worship – declaring boldly, “I have decided to follow Jesus…No turning back. NO turning back!”
But if I have failed to see where He is at work, then how can I hope to run to meet Him there?
Our worship must flow from a clarity that is grounded in Jesus. In His Word. In His Spirit. In His displayed “goodness in the land of the living.” It’s there. It always is. I pray that we would all have eyes to see it.
All life has a perspective – and we will choose one or the other. Broken or restored. Lost or full of hope.
The song I want to share with you is entitled, “Heroes” and is from Amanda Cook (Bethel Music) off her album, Brave New World. Check out these lines from the song…
Let the weary rise
Lift their eyes to see
Your Love crushing every lie
Every doubt and fear
I will, trust, here in the mystery
I will, trust, in You completely
Awake my soul to sing
With Your breath in me, I will worship
You taught my feet to dance upon disappointment
And I, I will worship
CCLI# 7051633
Written by Amanda Cook, Jason Ingram, Paul Mabury
2015 Bethel Music Publishing
Yes. Yes, indeed. So, put on your spiritual glasses today.
Transform your vision and you will transform your worship.
Transform your vision and He will transform your life.
With joy for the journey,
Sarah
Sarah’s heart and passion is to connect worshipers around the globe, with all their gifts and talents, and come before the Throne of God…together. She is a proud Army Chaplain’s wife and homeschool mom of 3 full-throttle kiddos. She and her beloved husband, Jeff, have been married for 21 years.
