Worship

Worship

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud.

Daniel 4:37

Worship happens only when we’re humble; true worship never happens when we’re proud.

Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way that nothing is more insane than human pride. But there is also nothing more sensible and sober than praising God. Having made an arrogant boast about all his achievements, Nebuchadnezzar was stricken down at the height of his pride by God’s judgment and literally lived in insanity for a while. But when he raised his eyes to heaven and praised God, his sanity was restored. We sometimes forget one of the benefits of worship: when we lift our eyes to heaven, our perspective changes.

Nebuchadnezzar left a wonderful pattern of worship for us and for our children:

• We lift our eyes to God, taking them off our present circumstances.
• We see ourselves as nothing in comparison with him who is everything, prompting us to realize how much he loves us.
• We see that God is much bigger than we are—he is eternal.
• We thank him that his faithfulness is passed from generation to generation.
• We realize that we don’t have the right to say to God, “What have you done?” because all power in heaven and earth is his.

The life of Nebuchadnezzar displays that true worship doesn’t happen when we’re pretending to be someone we’re not, or when we feel self-righteous and deny our need for God’s mercy and grace. True worship begins with humility and helps restore our perspective.

Father,

Thank you for your wonder and your splendor. Thank you that you are over everything and yet you love and care for us. May we worship you as you deserve to be worshipped. Amen.