Angels Show Us How To Worship

Angels Show Us How To Worship

Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” –Isaiah 6:2-3

What would we be like if we camped each night beside God’s throne in glory and were able to stay full of his presence even when we went out into the world to do his work? I’ve been around people who just seem to radiate love for and joy in God. They talk about God continually, and their relationship with him sounds so real and natural that I’ve wanted to learn from them. Likewise I can learn from angels by watching what they do and by listening to what they say. Revelation says that the angels “keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, Almighty’ ” (Revelation 4:8). If these holy creatures, awesome as they are, cry out in praise of his holiness day and night, if they fall down before God again and again, how much more should we? Angels show us how to worship in fear and freedom, in faithfulness and fullness.

We might think that angels would grow comfortably familiar with being in the presence of God, but they are eternally in awe of him, filled with holy fear. However, they are not frozen with fear. They’re free to worship God the way he wants to be worshiped. They shout and sing and fly. This freedom is what we, too, were made for! Angels show us what wholehearted, all-the-time worship looks like—gazing at Jesus on the throne, responding to him with reverent fear, enjoying him with great freedom, obeying him with genuine joy, and inviting the whole world to gaze on his beauty.

Our lesson from the angels begins when we recognize God’s holiness. His holiness is untouchable, unknowable, fiery, and consuming, and we simply cannot be casual and carefree and comfortable around it, demanding that our needs be met. His blazing holiness brings us to our knees, and we bow low before him. His holiness blinds us to our petty concerns and bids us to let go of lesser cares. As we enter his presence now, day-by-day, we become fitted for the day when we will unite in perfect praise with the angels, together forever in the presence of God.

Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord God Almighty! I’m only beginning to learn what it means to praise you as you deserve, but how I want to learn! How I long to worship you in appropriate fear and freedom, beginning today.

DIGGING DEEPER