Worship (Praise): The Way Forward
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader. Such acts may involve honoring.
The word is derived from the Old English ‘weorþscipe’, meaning to venerate “worship, honour shown to an object, which has been etymologised as “worthiness or worth-ship” — to give, at its simplest, worth to something.
Over the years, worshiping God with songs of praise has continued to be my ‘fail safe mode’ whenever I am going through dark moments, my soul automatically shifts into this mode and the next thing will be to plug in earpiece or play loud music on the nearest device. By dark moments I mean periods when one could simply have resorted to worry, cry (yes), transfer aggression, shout or even relapse into unsafe habits…feel free to add yours.
These (dark) moments have no respect for title, financial capacity, your network, godfather or even anointing (Jesus wept!), they simply flow with the wind and land at your doorstep without prior briefing… dark moments are (dark) like that.
“The night is darkest when a new day is about to break”
How have you been able to manage your down (dark) moments? I ask because those moments, irrespective of how bad they come, usually herald bright mornings and how you manage that moment of darkness determines to a very great extent what awaits you at dawn.
The darkest period at night (off photo period) in any day is usually around 12:00 midnight, the irony of this period however is the fact that aside from the conspiracy of silence that typifies this period across the universe, a glance at any digital chronometer reveals a very deep secret about this period.
“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
- Psalm 30:5
12:00 midnight reveals not just the time of the day/night, it (more importantly) marks the beginning of yet another day, yes, the darkest period heralds a new day!
“And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”
- Acts 16:23–26
The story above begins with the unjust arrest of Paul and Silas because they had cast a spirit of divination out of a girl, the local Philippian authorities beat them and then threw them into a jail cell. Besides the trauma of the severe beating, they were fastened in stocks which clamped their arms and legs in an immobile position, causing cramps and loss of circulation. The atmosphere there was depressing. According to the standards of that day, a prison was more like the resemblance of a dungeon. A dark, damp, stench-ridden place, with no facility for waste or comforts of any kind.
Yet, in spite of the throbbing pain in their bodies and the disheartening atmosphere, at midnight Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing praises to God! What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners, who were used to only hearing the groans or cursings of those who had been beaten.
Then suddenly, there was an earthquake that shook the prison! The doors flung open, and amazingly, the bonds of Paul, Silas, and every other prisoner were released! What caused this mighty discharge of power?
“Praise Elevates us into God’s Presence and Power”
Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power. Through praise and worship their hearts were raised into the joyous presence and peace of God, and provided God a channel for his power to operate in their circumstances.
Back to my personal routine during dark moments, I keep playing those tracks or sometimes a single track until it enters every cell in my body and I begin to move with the rhythm, this progresses to singing out loud and most times to outright dancing, wow, this is the most interesting part as 100 times out of 100, I have always sensed a soothing feeling across my body (from inside) and guess what? There always follows, solution.
Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise (worship). We may not feel like it. We’re struggling. We’re weary or maybe, we feel like He let us down. We think God seems distant, like he’s far away, or doesn’t really care about what’s troubling us. Painful life blows and losses might have recently sent us spiralling.
Here’s what can make a lasting difference. When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him praise, no matter what’s staring us straight in the face, we suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles can have over us.
Shallom!