If you are a Christian and have a relationship with God you most likely have heard Him say to you, “Worship Me.” Another thing you may hear Him say is, "Those who seek Me early will find Me."
I don’t think God should have to tell me to seek Him, or worship Him, but He does because I get off on my own too often. I get busy and just want Him to quickly talk to me so I can get on with my day.
That is not the kind of relationship God wants to have with us, nor do we want. If someone is in a hurry with us and they just want something from us, but have no time for us, we have hurt feelings. We should know that God too, has feelings and He enjoys our worship, and longs for our companionship.
Whenever I get to that place where God has to remind me to worship Him, I feel thoughtless, and foolish that He had to remind me. Then, during that time of worship I wonder why I allowed myself to miss out on that time with Him. Why would I want to go without feeling His presence so strongly, or having Him touch me so deeply with His love--that I cry? Why do I want to go without the wisdom and encouragement He gives me in that time with Him? Or why do I want to go without that healing that happens in His presence?
I remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to leave His presence. His love was everything I needed and I didn’t want to leave that place. In fact, He would at times have to tell me to get on with my day. I was down trodden, oppressed so, that I didn’t want to go anywhere but to stay with God who encouraged me and loved on me until I felt new again.
Then one day in worship God spoke to me and said, "Worshiping Me is more than getting on the floor, and singing to Me. Worshiping Me is living your life My way, doing what is pleasing to Me." From that day on I had a new sense of God's character, knowing the importance of worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth.
In worship-a time when you give God all your attention can be that time where you can hear God clearly and receive His wisdom. In that time, it may be a time of correction, a time when God will bring to mind things we may be doing that are not pleasing to Him.
God teaches us during our time of worship. When we come before Him and submit to Him, we come into one to one contact with Him, a place of communication with God where God can reveal things to us we cannot see without Him.
God corrects those He loves because with that correction, if we receive it, follows the manifestation of His presence and His promises. Sometimes we take God’s corrections lightly, and then when we go to Him for a need He will remind us of that correction because that correction has to do with our need being met. We can surely note throughout His Word that as we obey God, we will have all of His promises. If we disregard God’s command-if we don’t worship Him, we cannot expect His blessings to flow in our lives.
I remember a time in worship when God played a video in my mind of a day when I took my son to a bait shop. I witnessed my behavior as a haughty snob as I watched myself go into the bait shop and because of the smell and the meekness of the owner; I left the door open so I could breathe. The air-conditioner was on, but I didn’t consider the fact that I was rude or the cost of letting the door open. Then God pointed out in the video that played in my head, that the man's back was hunched over and in need of someone to tell him about the Healer.
As I started feeling remorse, God reminded me of the oath I had made. He reminded me that I said I would go for Him, which meant I was to represent Him. God asked me to go back to the bait shop and apologize to the man and give him a check to pay for leaving the door open while I was there and offer to pray for him for his back to be healed. I could hardly wait to go and do what God asked me to do. When I got there and started my apology-the man was so kind, he said, "that’s okay" and started to refuse the money. I insisted he take the money and then offered to pray for him, and of course he let me.
Nothing changed that I could see in his back at that moment, but I knew God told me to pray and to apologize to him so that is what I was determined to do. Even though I messed up, I also made it right and I believe that ministered to the man. I felt absolutely wonderful, filled to overflowing with joy afterwards, and I know it was because--I loved. God’s law is to love and if we don’t love we are just a sounding gong! I hated how I looked in the video God showed me, and determined not to be that haughty person anymore.
I know now, that I know God more--that His correction has everything to do with us being right with Him. When we say we believe in Him, that belief should be defined as: we trust Him and are willing to submit to Him--worship Him in all we do. Therefore believing is an action of obedience we have to exhibit to have God’s presence in our life.
God is in love with us and yes He wants us to run to Him when we are in trouble and we have a need, but we also have to know His promises being fulfilled come as we submit to Him. How else can we have joy, real joy, unless we obey Him and have His presence in our life? We can’t, God is all we need and has all we need, and He comes into our lives as we worship Him, with all our heart, soul, and mind.
If you have never made Jesus Lord of your life, just start worshiping Him now. Cry out to Him, and ask Him to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life. Ask Him to correct you - submit to Him and you will start feeling His presence. His presence is so overwhelming that it will make you cry because you will feel a love you have never felt before overtaking you. Start finding out from the Word of God how to live His way-and start doing it, and you will never be the same.
God corrects with truth, but it can feel like a scourging if we are offended by it, and are unwilling to be corrected.
Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
Take time to be with God and appreciate the correction and receive the love and the joy He gives. Know that God is loving you when He corrects you and that He is showing you the way to true happiness, peace, joy, and eternal life with Him.
John 5:10 If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love. 11 I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing. 12 This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.
God’s law is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers ([the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody). 3 Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or [in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.
Mark 12: 30 And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your [life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. 31 The second is like it and is this; You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.