Worship

Worship

You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things—the sheep and the cattle and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!

Psalm 8:6-9

My most vivid worship experience took place underneath the surface of the ocean.

My husband, our three sons, and I were vacationing in the Virgin Islands. Not having snorkeled before that trip, we began by kicking around in shallow waters off the coast where we were staying. We all enjoyed the experience so much that we decided to rent a boat with a captain for one day and do some serious snorkeling. When the captain first stopped the boat in what—to me—felt like the middle of the ocean, all four males in my family immediately jumped in. I, on the other hand, sat on the boat’s ladder dangling my feet in the water, trying to summon enough courage to jump.

After some patient coaxing from the captain, I finally took the plunge . . . and promptly lost my fear. My only thought was I’m in a totally different world than anything I’ve ever seen before! I wanted to cry, but it wasn’t because I felt sad or afraid. I felt a sense of wonder and awe at things God created that I had never seen before. As I observed the angelfish, sergeant majors, and blue tangs, the words that kept running through my mind were, “O Lord, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!”

When the five of us returned to the boat, there was one thing I was thankful that I hadn’t seen—the three-foot barracuda that Jim and the boys described to me. It might have interrupted my worship experience.

Father,

Thank you that your majesty is evident in the fish of the sea and all the creation around us. Amen.