worshipping while working

(Shout-out to my dad, who shared the family data plan with me, which allowed me to post this blog from my dorm room. 🙂 )

Have you ever felt guilty?

Ha ha— psych! I know that answer to that already.

It’s cool, me too.

And particularity for Christians, we feel the constant guilt of not doing, being, reading, or praying enough.

So the other day I realized something:

Every day life can be worship.

I mean, I’ve heard it a lot, but it just hit home, you know?

So this has been my resolution for this new year (and all the years to follow!): to view every aspect of life as an opportunity for worship.

Even my slumbering and hustling and bustling are worship if I allow them to be. A constant reminder that boring pieces of the day can be used to fulfill a greater purpose gives me reason to offer my heart and circumstances to God in whatever part of my day.

Viewing everyday life as worship produces passion, purpose, and freedom in the mundane.

Example:

I am sitting in class listening to Dr. Mustache preach on chemiosmosis through the fancy-smancy lipid-bilayer of some cellular membrane of a eukaryotic cell.

Fun, right?

So I’m about to give up, because really.

But then I remind myself: listening to my teacher, and working hard in this class is worship. Because as I give Dr. Mustache my attention, the minute decision to respect my teacher glorifies God.

I think that’s pretty cool. I’m worshipping God by simply choosing to respect my teacher.

That gives me purpose in everyday life! Sometimes we just need that, ya know? There is a sense of purpose behind everything we put the slightest effort into.

And when I take out the trash, console a crying friend, or help Bobby with the lab report, it’s all for Jesus!

And that makes me pretty passionate about this whole living thing. Because Jesus is a pretty cool guy to live for.

My personal favorite part, though, is freedom.

I often feel guilty because I have only “given God” maybe fifteen minutes of devotional one day.

Or maybe I completely forget about my devotional.

Or maybe the day is packed, because you have so many responsibilities, and we are called to be in constant prayer and continuous glorification to God, but it’s just hard to fit all of that glorification into only day. 

I know how that feels. God says He is pleased with his “good and faithful servant” but I don’t feel so good and faithful today. I feel like a failure and defeated by the clock and responsibilities today. In fact, I really feel like a failure thinking about last (almost) eighteen years if I realize how much I “haven’t given.”

But that’s a lie, and the truth sets us free, guys.

The truth says that yes, God calls us to be in His word everyday (Psalm 1:2), pray endlessly (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and glorify Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31).

And the truth says that it is possible, and you might have done it when you didn’t even realize!

When we realize that everyday life is worship, we don’t have to life in shame or guilt because “we can’t give enough of our lives to God.”

When we realize worship is the purpose of everyday life, we are motivated to live like Christ.

When we realize that we make choices everyday to glorify our Father in the mundane, we don’t have to live with the burden of “not giving enough.”

We give Him our lives and hearts by making the decision to choose to love through small actions such as washing dishes, signing checks, packing the lunches, working out, listening to a friend, etc.

If we only allow ourselves to constantly praise God, then it is possible.

The opportunity for daily worship is there.

God promised us He will provide, and He has provided this life.

We just must allow worship to be a part of it all. We must choose it. We aim to must remember the reason we walk our dogs and go to work or school. We must aim to remember that worship is not confined to a sanctuary or chapel.

And I pray that we realize this!

I believe that if we realize that every piece of every day is worship when we choose to love and not grumble, then our lives will be filled with passion, purpose, and freedom. And a result of this, we will look a little more like Christ with every decision.

And that’s the goal, right? To look more like Christ everyday?

That’s my new year’s resolution, and I pray that it’s the same for you.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” – Romans 12:1

“Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which ‘comes upon you,’ but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Graham Kendrick

“My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.” Psalm 71:8

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31

To clarify: I’m not saying that every single second of every single day that we are going to bring glory to God. We are going fail and sin—a lot! And that’s okay! Otherwise, we would have no need for Him. But aiming to look more like Him and live free of shame and guilt is Christianity lived out.

 I’m also not denoting the importance of corporate worship, daily meditation, or prayer. Those practices are very vital (1 Timothy 4:13, 1 Thes. 5:17, Joshua 1:8), and they fuel and guide us in daily worship! However, it is important that we remember worship is not confined to only hymns and publicly speaking the Word.

– Mary Madeline

Advertisement