Walk HumblySample

Worshipping and Praising God for Who He is

Mercy Ships volunteer Tori Hobson walked into the Africa Mercy ward early one morning and saw 17-year-old Sory who had just received treatment to remove a tumour he had had since the age of 9. He was singing and dancing on his bed—echoing the worship songs he had heard in the ward church service. Tori said, “His joy was so contagious that I started dancing and singing with him.”

You see, a by-product of mercy is contagious joy! Worship and praise change our perspective. When we worship and focus on God, we are shaped by Him and are caught up in His purposes. In the passage you are about to read, Isaiah has an encounter with the living God and is completely overwhelmed by His holiness and His glory. His response to catching a glimpse of the awesomeness of God in this way is humbleness; “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Isaiah sees himself in light of the brilliant holiness of God. He has a reality check on who he is and his position in relation to his God. As we worship and praise God for who He is in this way, our view of who God is changes—we become less inclined to make gods of ourselves or anything else for that matter.

Anything we put before God in our lives can become a ‘god’—our beauty, money, title, possessions, or the affections of another person. Whatever we put first in our lives, and seek to serve, eventually becomes a ‘god’ or an ‘idol’ for us. That’s why Jesus said, ‘you cannot serve both God and money’.  As we worship God and get to know Him for who He is, false ‘gods’ fall a long way short in comparison—and God takes His rightful place in our lives. God comes first!

Call to action - Take some time today to remind yourself about the character of God—to praise Him for who He is.  Ask God to reveal if anything, or anyone, is becoming an idol for you.