Worship in Spirit and in Truth
Jesus tells us in John 4:23-24 that a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Lately, God has been unveiling the above verses, and giving them more and more meaning in my life. For as long as I can remember, I have always been driven by my emotions. My thoughts, and the way I felt, always dictated my actions, and my joy, or lack of joy, was always dependent on my circumstances.I was never happy, and if I was, it didn't last long. I was always grouchy, and very negative. I've been irrational, frantic, and erratic which resulted in mean, angry, and verbally abusive behavior. Rarely did I ever screen or filter the words that came out of my mouth. That was, until I met Jesus. (Thinking back, I still cringe at the detestable things I used to say.) Then I saw my words and my sin for what it truly was. Bible verses showed me the impact and effect words can have, and I knew I had to change. (Read the book of Proverbs if you want to know more about words/mouth). I decided that I wanted to use my mouth to build up and encourage others, rather than tear down or destroy. Most of all, I wanted to use my mouth, words, and actions to bring God glory.
However, changing wasn't easy to do. With God's help, mercy, and grace, I am still working on it. God showed me that when I live by my negative thoughts and emotions, I do things I regret. I would say things that I couldn't take back. My actions and behaviors were careless, thoughtless, and hurtful to those around me, and ultimately destructive to myself. I didn't care about the hurt that I caused others, unless God revealed it to me. Furthermore, God showed me that most of my negative thoughts were not true. More than anything, they were unstable, impulsive, and ever-changing, causing me nothing but grief. It became clear that I needed God's help. My behavior was negatively impacting my life, relationships, and outlook in life. I had to stop, what the Bible calls, living in the flesh.
Romans 8:8 tells us that Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God, and Galatians 5:19-21 says gives examples of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Yet, a few verses earlier, the Bible states that we should walk by the Spirit, so that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). This meant that I could no longer act out based on my emotions and negative thoughts. I could no longer hate people, have fits of rage, and say hurtful things to people, not if I wanted to glorify my Heavenly Father.
God is (still) teaching me to live outside of my emotions, to throw out the negative thinking, and to focus on Him. All too often, we let our emotions and thoughts control us. We get into conflicts (that could have been avoided), and are too quick speak and act (or react). Our happiness depends on getting what we want, or our circumstances. But, remember what Jesus told us? We must worship in spirit and in truth. How do you do this you may wonder. I saw a quote on Facebook that might be helpful; it said, If you have time to worry, you have time to pray. I love that! It's so simple, yet so true! But there's more to that verse.
First things first, Jesus tells us we need to worship. We have to worship God in our worry, anger, uncertainty, pain, hurt, and sorrow. We can do this by prayer, praising God, fasting, reading His Word, listening to sermons, singing songs of praise, moments of silence, and more. Next, worshipping in Spirit means to not walk in the flesh. We must take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Change the way we think and renew our minds. We also cannot let our emotions reign or rule our lives. We may not be able to change how we feel, but we can always choose the way we act. Additionally, worshipping in truth means to proclaim God's character, power, and promises rather than focusing on our problems. We must proclaim and declare who God is, regardless of our circumstances. Your problem or circumstance that you are currently going through will not last. It is not the eternal truth. It is only temporary. But Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection is the truth. It will always be truth.
You may be hurting now, but God's Word says, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4). You may be anxious, ill, or weak, but God's Word says he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3). His Word is the truth, and it does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Our circumstances are temporary. No matter what we face, all of our problems will have to answer to Jesus because at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Be reminded that our problems will never change who God is. They cannot strip God of His glory or power. They cannot take Him off His throne. We must focus on who God is, all of who He is. Please know that I am not disregarding or minimizing your problems, or telling you to forget about them. I want you to pray and tell all of your problems to God. Cast your cares upon Him. But don't forget to tell your problems who God is!
Worship Him in Spirit and in truth, not by living off of how we feel or our current situation. We can't act out because of how we're feeling, nor can we give our problems precedence in our life. Next, we must worship God by proclaiming the truth: His power, goodness, faithfulness, love, mercy, grace, compassion, kindness, and promises over our lives. We must no longer let our fears and failures control our future. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world (1 John 2:16), but Jesus died so that we could have life, and have life abundantly (John 10:10). Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5:6). So stop worrying, and have faith!
Let us pray.
Father God Almighty, the God of Truth,
We revere you and praise You. Thank you for these verses and reminders. Teach us to be the true worshippers, those which You seek. Give the readers a personal revelation of what it means to worship in Spirit and in truth. Comfort them and give them the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7). Give them revelation of Your love for them. Show them any errors in their thinking, and how fleeting emotions can be. Show us how temporary our circumstances are, and how eternal You and Your promises are. Your hand is mighty, and You are above all. Nothing can shake You. You fear no one and nothing. For you You are Lord of All. Thank You for Your son Jesus, and everything else You've done. We proclaim Your goodness, and all that You will do. For Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. In Jesus' name, amen.
Prayerfully,
Pam
