God-centered Worship

God-Centered Worship

The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble.

Psalm 99:1

IN WORD If we are to be true worshipers of our God, we must undergo a radical change of perspective. All humans have grown up self-centered in this world, looking out for our own concerns and planning our own agenda. We aren’t necessarily selfish, just self-directed. From our first cry in the cradle to our complaints of today, we have made it clear: We’re all about us.

But the Bible points us in a different direction. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, it’s all about Him. He created the world for His purposes, and He will fulfill them. The books of Moses are really the books of God. The psalms of David are really the psalms about God. The Acts of the Apostles should really be called the Acts of God. And our lives, too, end up with inappropriate names: The biography of “so-and-so” is nothing more than the story of what God did—or didn’t do—in a person’s life. We aren’t independent creatures. We exist for a greater purpose—a greater Person, actually.

That’s why, while our worship will always express gratitude for what God has done in our lives, it must first and foremost be about what God has done—period.

IN DEED How do we know when we have the right perspective? When we’re able to praise God for His holiness, even though it resulted in His discipline to correct our unholiness, we’re there. When we’re able to praise Him for His healing power, even though someone else received it while we remain sick, we understand. When we’re able to worship His righteous judgments, whether or not they fall favorably on us, we get it.

Are you there? Not many people are. But that’s the goal of God-centeredness. It delights in the victories God has won, the lives He has touched, the diseases He has healed, the failures He has forgiven—even if they’re not our victories, lives, diseases, or failures. If we rejoice that He reigns, even when His reign makes us tremble, we can know: God is the center of our worship.

You awaken us to delight in Your praise.

—AUGUSTINE