Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. —John 9:38 (NKJV)
How we respond to God when He reveals Himself says a lot about how we view Him. He is Lord, God, Creator, Ruler, Provider, Protector and on and on and on. But I have to ask myself, who does my worship say He is?
Last week my husband and I visited a friend in the hospital who had just completed surgery after finding out she had breast cancer. The doctors told her ahead of time that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. But through groggy eyes and a cheerful smile she whispered, “The doctors said they found no cancer in my lymph nodes.” I instinctively knew this was a movement of God and uttered a quiet, “Praise the Lord.”
That was last week.
This week, I was reading in John 9 about the man Jesus healed who was born blind. In verse 37, Jesus reveals that He is the Son of God which is followed by verse 38 (go figure) where the man said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
I don’t imagine the man’s worship was a quiet utterance of “Praise the Lord.” His worship didn’t come from habit. It wasn’t planned out or rehearsed. It was his honest response to Jesus revealing who He was. John doesn’t elaborate about how the man worshiped or what he said but I can imagine it was beautiful and heartfelt. My worship in the hospital room was not beautiful or heartfelt. It was habitual. Sure, I was saying the right words but not in the right tone. You know, when your kids say “I’m sorry for hitting my brother” with such a forced tone…maybe even a little sarcastic. You know they aren’t really sorry. They are just saying what they need to to either avoid getting into more trouble or to end the lecture. They are saying the right words but not in the right spirit. That is NOT how I want to worship my God!
I want to worship God as an outflow of my heart!
There was no time mentioned between Jesus revealing who He was and the man worshiping. It sounds like it was instantaneous.
Have you ever broke out in instantaneous worship?
Needless to say, I am taking a good look at how I worship throughout my week. I may recognize God moving and may even give Him credit. But is it just lip service or is it TRUE worship? God is seeking true worshipers and I want to be one of them.