Thoughts and Encouragements for Wounded Helpers
Joined to a Healing God
|
Thoughts and Encouragements for Wounded Helpers
Joined to a Healing God |
True Worship |
2008-02-10One of the smallest books on my bookshelf - actually more a booklet than a book - also is one of the most precious ones to me. It is Worship: The Missing Jewel by the 20-th-century prophet A.W. Tozer.
But, what is worship?
| Is it a ritual? Is it something we do? | |||||||
| Or is it rather a feeling? | |||||||
| Or much more of a way of life? | |||||||
| What, actually is it? | |||||||
Before I start to dig into these questions, allow me to divert a little to some phenomena that may be comparable in some sense.
As A.W. Tozer illustrates in this little book, worship is like a precious jewel. One might also say: it is like the smile on two lovers' faces, as they catch sight of each other. The recognition and love they found in each other gives them a vibrancy, it's as if they got a fresh load of new energy. They start talking faster and more enthousiastic when they see each other or think of one another. It's a thing of the heart. Like a deep feeling of contentment. "I have met someone..." one of the lovers may say to a friend, and on goes an enthousiastic story.
Those lovers will -often unconsciously- choose their words carefully
when they speak to (or about) their loved one.
They will use words that lift the other up.
"You are so beautiful, I can hardly look at anything else!"
"It was sooo kind of you when you..."
I could go on for a long time giving examples.
Undoubtedly, you can come up with some yourself.
When I think back of times when I was in love myself or of times
when I saw or overheard two lovers on an adjacent table in a restaurant,
or when a friend told me about his new girlfriend, two things come back to
my mind.
The first is this:
There is a kind of admiration and awe, a kind of wonder in those
times of being together.
A desire to see and think or talk of nothing else than the loved one.
What also strikes me in remembering most of these 'conversations',
though, is the frequency of the word "you" in them.
Also, when one of those lovers talks to a friend, unceasingly the
name of the loved one appears.
It is he or it is she who is sooo great!
 ... that beautiful
sunset... |
A similar experience may be described by someone who is 'in love' with a certain landscape or some holiday experience, a waterfall or whatever. He or she can hardly keep silent about it. You will repeatedly hear things like: "Ooh, it was sooo beautiful... that sunset over those lovely hills each night..." Or: "Those eagles, really awesome... ever been there? No? Oh, you should really go there and have a look for yourself! They are so splendid,... that shining black and brilliant white... and that wingspan... so awesome..."
In these experiences, normal human words often come short in describing the sense of awe and wonder. The beauty and love of someone coming close, the power of a great waterfall, the beauty of a scenery - they can be too big for words.
In the beginning of this article, I posed the question: 'What is worship?'
Isn't worship something that comes from a deep stirring of the heart, like
in the examples given above?
One is humbled by the experience of something that transcends our reason,
transcends our comprehension - something that is full of majesty and wonder.
Now, if we can experience this sense of awe, this sense of humility,
fascination and wonder in the face of a created being, or with a piece of
nature,
how much more when our hearts are gripped by the Almighty and by Who He
is...
A.W. Tozer speaks of "Awesome wonder and overpowering love"
Prayer is the occupation of the
soul with its needs. Praise is the occupation of the soul with its blessings. Worship is the occupation of the soul with God Himself. Alfred P. Gibbs quoted in Discipleship Jl Online News, Febr.2005 |
A.W. Tozer also speaks of neo-rationalism that has penetrated evangelicalism.
We want to understand. We want to comprehend.
But when we try "to explain everything, [we take] the mystery out of
life and the mystery out of worship."
God is so far beyond our comprehension!
Tozer: "There must always be that awe upon our spirits that says,
'Ah, Lord God, Thou knowest!' - that stands silent and breathless or kneels
in the presence of that awful Wonder, that Mystery, that unspeakable
Majesty, ..."
The fall has done a lot of evil to our sense of wonder and awe before God. But in and through Jesus we may accede again to the throne of God - yes, with worship, as we were meant to be and meant to do.
Jesus, when speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, mentioned two
important characteristics of worship: when we worship, we must do so
in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).
What does that mean?
Let me briefly give my ideas about it.
As I see it, 'worshiping in spirit' has to do with the fact that it is our
spirit, uniting itself with God's Holy Spirit in worship.
In other words: worship is not something we can do from or by our own soul,
will or power only.
To use the metaphore of the couple-in-love: worship from our soul would be
like a typed love-letter, or one copied from a book.
True worship comes from our heart, stirred by God.
It transcends the purely human.
Then, there was the aspect of 'truth'.
It has to do with commitment.
We cannot worship God one moment and be unfaithful to Him the next.
This is: what I call 'consistent expression'.
There must be a desire in our heart to align our life with
what we say in worship and to let our worship language be 'not to big for
our everyday-life- boots'.
We don't want our worship to look like the smooth talk of a lover-boy:
which may sound as nice as the love-words of a committed lover, but be aware!
Jesus once told a parable of a man who had two sons.
The father asked the sons to go to work with him.
One said 'yes', the other said 'no'.
The one who said 'yes' thereafter decided not to go.
The one who said 'no' decided to change his plans and go help his dad.
Then, Jesus asked who of the sons was most enjoyable to the father...
This tells me something about worship, too.
Worship is not the words.
It's an attitude. An attitude that explicitly may be hesitant to say
"I will" - but also one that implicitly - in everyday life - says
"Yes, I will". That's worship in the language of our life.
That's a life-style of worship - worship 'in truth'.
It's a 'practicing the presence of God' - as Leanne Payne calls it - in
a way that communicates that we are gripped by His love, fascinated by
His transcended Being.
It will show explicitly as well as implicitly - but particularly the latter.
All this brings us to another dimension of worship: the ways in which it expresses itself.
In the book of Revelation, we receive a lot of images on what it is to
worship God.
But most of all, when I read the account of what John experienced there at
the isle of Patmos, I get a sense of: "Yes, You and You alone, o God,
are worthy to receive: all glory, honour and praise!"
For, at the heart of it: what is the reason we worship?
Is it because it is customary to do this during a Sunday service?
Is it, because it has been commanded in Scriptures?
Or because we find wholeness and blessing that way?
No, though all of those statements in themselves may be true,
the heart of true worship is to express the awe and wonder we experience
when we stand humbly as small creatures before a God Who is almighty as well
as omnipotent, all-loving as well as totally true, hating sin as well as
gently restoring sinners,...
and on and on I could go and still come short of describing the wonder of
His character.
Yes, we worship because He alone is worthy to receive our worship - daily,
weekly, monthly and during the great festivities; those special days of
the year.
When our hearts are fascinated by the wonder of God: His transcendence,
His glory, His being God, we may respond in a variety of ways.
We see this in the Bible, too:
Some people fall on their face.
Some just stand silently in awe.
Others start a tremendous common jubilation.
David once said he wanted to be with God in His holy temple to just
"gaze upon the beauty of the Almighty" (Ps.27).
For me, this illustrates the fact that any expression comes short of
being a total and worthy reply to the wonder and greatness of the Other.
Though there can be such a diversity of forms of expression,
they all have one thing in common: they are God-directed.
Remember how I alluded to the fact that all the love-talk of a couple of
new lovers circles around the wonder of the other. Or the fascination
with a scenery or some animals - it is always directed at the 'wonderful
other'.
Yet, I have seen a lot of churches and groups where 'worship' is a label
that is put on a way of singing that is full of "I's":
"I will praise you, I will do this, I will..."
This - to me - is not worship.
It may have a place next to worship in a church service, okay.
But it is not worship.
Have you ever seen a woman, totally head-over-heels in love, saying
"I will do this, I will do that..." when she sees her beloved?
A child who is afraid of being rejected, who has the experience
of being rejected when he or she doesn't 'measure up' - such a child
will say things like: "I will be nice, I will do that..."
It is the language of someone trying to please the other in order to
be accepted or in order to get his or her way on something.
In worship, all this "I will" -stuff is out of place.
The heart of worship is the realization that anything I do would come
short of responding properly to the wonder encountered.
As Leanne Payne expresses it so aptly: "You cannot engage in a
lovers' kiss and think about it, or talk about it at the same time."
Worship is not a conscious prayer of commitment - "I will".
Rather, it is an act of total immersion in something that is too
overwhelming to withstand it.
There is a sort of 'blending in' with the wonder.
(Note that that's why the Holy Spirit may give us words that are
beyond human words to express the unspeakable awe to God.)
You let go of all other thoughts or whishes or whatever.
It's an act of total surrender.
In that sense it does -implicitly- communicate a happy "Yes, I
will!"
| "Shema
Yisraêl, Yehowah, Elohainoo, Yehowah aichod,"
'Hear, oh Israel,
the LORD our God, the Almighty is
One!' Deut. 6:4 (cf Marc 12:29) |
In the YwaM eTouch bulletin of March 2007 I read the following anecdote:
A Quaker took a friend to the 'Meeting House' one Sunday morning. They sat down, all the men on one side and the women on the other. 10am came and went and nothing happened. Five minutes stretched into 10, then 20, and after more than half an hour of total silence, the visitor leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear, "When does the service begin?"
The hushed rejoinder came . . .
"After the worship is over."
The above has implications for leading ourselves and others into a time
of worship.
It is like in the case of the intimacy between lovers:
on the one hand one might say, that a little spark can set a fire going very
fast, on the other hand, the process can by no means be forced.
It needs a tender build-up and letting go of other things that might
distract us.
A man cannot kiss his wife in total commitment and surrender and at the same
time think about his business.
The same counts for worship.
Otherwise we make worship a hollow label for something that would not be
'true', like 'having sex' without foreplay or intimacy and tender care.
Having said this, is there anything we can do practically to lead
ourselves as well as others into worship?
Yes, I think there is!
I have asked myself: "what makes me so fascinated and enthousiastic at
times about the woman that I love, or about a piece of scenery, a beautiful
sunset, or whatever?"
Mostly, it is first availing or giving myself to the object of my adoration,
while at the same time allowing myself to enjoy the object of my adoration,
to taste the wonder of it all, to delight in it/her/him.
That takes some time and cannot be rushed.
It cannot be manipulated to my will.
Rather, it is a kind of 'letting go' - an immersion in beauty and wonder.
Before it can happen, I must rid myself of things that are in contradiction
with it.
Again, it's like a man may need to confess something to his wife,
before they can engage in more tender love-making.
Filling my senses with the object of my adoration helps a lot
(remember the first words of John Denver's Annie's
Song: "You fill up my senses..."?).
In leading up to worship, we can do pretty much the same.
We can sing songs, read Scriptures or do other rituals that help us
focus on the wonder of God.
We may start by looking at what He did for us.
We can ask Him to clean us of impurity and sin, in Jesus' Name.
We may recommit ourselves to Him, or make a decision with regard to
something He lets His light shine on in our life.
We can give our burdens to Him, that His peace may fill our mind and heart
anew.
Then we may move on to look at Who He is: the tenderness as well as the
awesome power that is in Him. The gace and the truth. The life and the hope.
We may ponder the great Names that have been given to God in attempts
to describe His character beyond description.
Then, when we sense the gentle confirmation of the Spirit, we can move
on to the actual worship.
It may begin with a half-consciously sung worship-song about His greatness.
The Spirit may lead us on to words and music beyond our own.
After a time of intimacy, I often like to just quietly sit or stand in
awe and let it all sink deeper into my soul.
After that, there may be a time when we share some new aspect of
His greatness we just experienced, or pray about something we like to
see changed after this confrontation with His light.
This article isn't on this website on counseling for no reason.
Worship has a very important place in the life and healing process
of myself and my counselees.
The true love and inexplainable wonder we experience in the presence
of God - the experience that builds our reaction of humble awe and worship -
is the best antidote to trauma, brokenness and darkness I can ever imagine.
The experience of safe surrender the best antidote to having been abused.
Nowhere is this experience stronger than when we engage ourselves,
in a 'letting go'-fashion, corporately with many brothers and sisters
with whom we can feel secure, in true worship.
True worship has a way of bringing us in a deep encounter with God,
with our heart; not just with our mind.
As we give our heart, our body, our power and all in surrender and
adoration to God, I have the idea we become more 'reachable' to God.
As a result, I experienced some of the most profound healings just in
those situations.
Someone asked me: the title of your story is true worship - is there
something like false worship, too?
I hesitated to bring this up, but my answer to that is: yes, I think
there is.
It has (a.o.) to do with the image we have of God and of ourselves.
Take the concept of repetition as an example.
There is good repetition, where out of fascination one says the same thing
several times, in an attempt to formulate the unspeakable.
You meet this here and there in the Psalms (though not often) or in
Revelation (cf. the "holy, holy, holy are You, God!" where the
manyfold "holy" builds up like an infinite stairway of our
limited concept of holyness to sort of approach the unspeakable heavenly
concept of holyness).
This 'good repetition' is also represented by the way a wife may appreciate
her husband saying more than once on a day how beautiful she is.
But there also is a sort of repetition that only reveals the hollowness.
It's the repetition on which the wife would become irritated in stead of
flattered and say: "you look like a broken record!"
Let me give you another clear example of this hollow repetition.
On one of my far-away travels, I once came along a temple where explicit
idol worship took place.
What stroke me was the poverty of it all.
Oh, don't get me wrong - I do not refer to outward poverty - all the gold
of the statue of the 'god' and all the gold in that temple was quite
impressive.
But there were bells on the ceiling all around the temple with long ropes
hanging down - bells to 'wake up the god' (the image was: he was sleeping
all the time).
There were 'prayer windmills' rotating all day in the wind, so that,
by the repetition, the 'god' might some day 'listen'.
People were reciting the same words over and over for the same reason: fear
of not being heard.
I tell you: I have never felt so humble about the privilege of knowing
a heavenly Father who hears even the smallest sigh of my heart...
It reminded me of Elijah and the Baal priests on mount Horeb - the Baal
priests dancing around the altar, 'performing' like hell to get Baal to do
something.
And when it was Elijah's turn, he even made it physically more difficult
for God - for he was maybe just a small man, but he knew a great God!
And God did demonstrate who He was and is, there!
Then, a 'worship concert' where a leader tries to hide his inner
insecurity by that ugly and empty kind of repetition,... ouch... it gives
me shivers!
It is just when we step back a little, that God can enter through His
Spirit.
That's great news for fallible, weak humans like I am! It's not dependent on
my 'performance', but on Him. I may step back and let Him take the lead.
So, to summarize:
False worship (borne from our own soul) tries to 'create' a certain
atmosphere, a 'high', by the music, the songs, by repetition, etc.
It's the same as what happens in any other concert or in that idol temple.
A leader tries to induce certain emotions in the people present.
If he is succesfull, all 'feel' it and be glad about it.
The leader will get praise for it, for he does it, using the way we humans
are 'wired' emotionally.
True worship comes from being like a small child overwhelmed by a big
God - by His grace, His love, His greatness.
It comes through His Spirit in us.
We do not have to 'perform'. We just are.
Loved children, happy to be with Father.
We can introduce others into it by pointing simply to Him, like you
would share a wonderful sunset with a friend: "come, have a look!",
or maybe even just by gazing at it yourself...
The following is a selection of books related to worship and living a life of worship.
James Montgomery Boice, The sovereign God, Foundations of the Christian Faith - Vol. 1, IVP, Downers Grove Ill USA, 1978.
Judson Cornwall & Michael S.B. Reid, Whose love is it anyway?, Sharon, Pilgrims Hatch Brentwood Essex GB, 1991.
Gene Edwards, The Divine Romance, Tyndale House Pub, USA, 1993; ISBN: 0842310924.
Brother Lawrence (Nicolas Herman; also known as Frère Laurent), Practice the Presence of God, ISBN 0883681056; after two documents in French from 1692 and 1694 (Maximes spirituelles fort utiles aux âmes pieuses pour acquérir la présence de Dieu, recueillies de quelques manuscrits du Frère Laurent de la Résurrection, religieux convers des Carmes déchaussez, avec ábrégé de la vie de l'auteur et quelques lettres qu'il a écrites à des personnes de piété, Paris, Edme Couterot, 1692; et: Les Moeurs et entretiens du Frère Laurent de la Résurrection, religieux carme déchaussé, avec la Pratique de l'exercice de la présence de Dieu, tirée de ses lettres, Chaalons, Jacques Seneuze, 1694 (both: Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris); (Dutch translation by J.B.M. Laudy: Besef van Gods tegenwoordigheid, Gideon, Hoornaar NL, 1999; ISBN 90-6067-786-2; previously published as: Licht in ons hart, Carmelitana, Belgium).
Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child - the cry of the heart for intimate belonging, NavPress, Colorado USA, 1994.
Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel - embracing the unconditional love of God, Multnoma Books / Questar, Sisters Oregon USA, 1990 / SP Trust - Alpha, Aylesbury Bucks GB, 1997.
Catherine Marshall, The Helper, Chosen Books, USA, 1978; (Dutch translation by J.H. Cornelder: De Helper , Gideon, Hoornaar, 1982).
Henri Nouwen, The return of the prodigal son, ...., 1988. (Available in Dutch as: Eindelijk thuis - gedachten bij Rembrandts 'De terugkeer vam de verloren zoon', Lannoo, Tielt, 2000; editing of the Dutch version by: Evert vdr Poll).
Jessie Penn-Lewis, Face to Face, The Overcomer Literature Trust, Great Britain.
Zac Poonen, Radiating His Glory, Kingsway, Eastbourne E.-Sussex GB, 1982.
John Ernest Sanders, The God Who risks - A theology of providence, IVP, Downers Grove Illinois, 1998. ISBN 0-8308-1501-5.
J. Oswald Sanders, Enjoying intimacy with God, Moody Press, Chicago USA, 1980.
Francis A. Schaeffer, True spirituality, Tyndale House, Wheaton USA / Coverdale House, London GB, 1972.
A.W. Tozer, The knowledge of the Holy, Harper SanFrancisco; November 1978; ISBN: 0060684127.
A.W. Tozer, Worship: The Missing Jewel, Heritage Series,
Christian Publications, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, 1992;
ISBN: 0-87509-483-X; (June 1996 edition: 0-87509-219-5).
Remark: A reviewer (icmi@cadvision.com
from Canada) aptly writes on the site of Amazon.com about it
(January 25, 2000): "The Missing Jewel: A Timeless Classic.
The Missing Jewel by A. W. Tozer is a timeless classic when it comes
to the subject of worship. Christians today are bombarded with a diverse
view of what worship should be like for the Christian.
This book captures the timeless elements that every Christian (and leader
in the church) should know and understand - even though the book was
written many years ago.
In particular you will enjoy Tozer's section on Acceptable Worship; defining
the difference between false worship and acceptable worship."
The following is a selection of webpages on worship.
At the site of Integrity Music there is a lot of good material on worship: both (references to) good worship CD's etc. and good articles in their European and American Worship Article archives.
 Kirk & Deby Dearman |
The Discipleship Journal (Navigators USA) library has some very
good articles that have led me to worship on various occasions:
He Looks at Me with Delight -
by Ken Gire, who takes an intimate look at the ongoing love relationship
between Jesus and you, His bride (Issue 102, Nov/Dec 1997)
Here Comes the Groom -
Living in joyful anticipation of Christ’s return;
by Rebecca Barlow Jordan (Issue 110, Mar/Apr, 1999)
Friendship with God - Moving from
Duty to Delight, by Michelle McKinney Hammond (Issue 114, Nov/Dec 1999)
He Chose to be Vulnerable - by Paula
Rinehart (Issue 102, Nov/Dec 1997)
Living as God's Beloved -
an interview with Brennan Manning, author of (a.o.):
Abba's Child, on how to experience God's love.
By Paula Rinehart (Issue 100, Jul/Aug 1997)
He Wants to Be with Me -
'Be near me, Lord Jesus. I ask you to stay close by me
forever and love me, I pray;' by Sandy Clark (Issue 102, Nov/Dec 1997)
Why should I trust God? - Trusting God is a
moment-by-moment challenge possible only when we focus on His character, by
Linda Dillow (Issue 103, Jan/Feb 1998)
Believe it or not? -
when it comes to trusting God, your actions speak louder than your words;
with a good section on our identity in Christ;
by Stacey S. Padrick (Issue 103, Jan/Feb 1998)
Hope: Anchoring Your Heart to a Sure and Certain
Future - indeed: very hope-full (Issue 114)
Love: Delighting in God's
tenderness - we all need to hear and experience that we are loved,
but how do we get there? With questions for further reflection and/or
discussion with friends (Issue 114)
The One Jesus Loves - when we draw
near enough to hear Jesus’ heartbeat, we will discover, as John did,
that we are His beloved; by Brennan Manning (Issue 82, July/Aug 1994)
The God Who Sings - Discover the
Father's Delight in You; by Steve Beard (Issue: 115, Jan/Feb 2000)
His Ways, Our Ways -
trusting God to shape our lives. By David Hazard (Issue 95, Sep/Oct 1996).
David himself - in his role as guest editor - says about this article:
"A testimony about how God leads us away from the security we try
to find in earthly things toward trust in Him alone.
It’s a story of a hardworking evangelical who did not know how
to trust in the deep love and the higher ways of God,
until he passed through many fires.
Perhaps it will open to you a more awesome view of God,
and higher possibilities for your struggles."
The freedom of surrender - the key to joy
and peace in your walk with God by Gary Thomas (Issue 95, Sep/Oct 1996).
This article explores the relief that is ours when we overcome our fear of
letting go and allowing God to govern our lives.
Here is help in identifying and getting beyond those barriers that keep us
from full trust in God and from the peace and purpose that we can experience
in Christ.
The Joy In Humility -
God promises rich rewards to the humble; by Warren and Ruth Myers
(Issue 105, May/June 1998)
Where's the joy? - It May Be Closer Than You
Think - keys to finding the Source of True Delight; by Paul Thigpen
(Issue 93, May/June 1996; see also the sidebar: Joy Stealers)
Good Grief: The good news is that
"Christian grief not only tells the truth about death, it tells
the truth about hope." - By Roger Edwards, challenging us from
1 Thes.4:13 (NIV): "We do not want you... to grieve like the
rest of men, who have no hope." (Issue 134, March/April 2003)
Created for Delight - Worship is what
we were born for, by Tricia Mccary Rhodes (Issue 132 November/December 2002);
"To be created to worship is a high honor and a wondrous privilege,"
says Tricia. "We often miss the beauty of it. I am intrigued and filled
with joy that the Almighty wants me to know and delight in Him."
A Life Of Praise -
Learn to express the pure joy of knowing God;
by Stacey S. Padrick (Issue 108, Mar/Apr 1995)
Learning the Language of Praise
- How to savor a new aspect of God’s character every day; by Bob Hostetler
(Issue 115, Jan/Feb 2000)
The Listening Side of Prayer -
How to hear God’s voice above the clamor and
learn to listen to God in a world of incessant noise.
By Stacey Padrick (Issue 95, Sep/Oct 1996). Comment of the issue's guest editor:
[most suitable] for those who need to discover how to "be still"
and draw near to God.
If your prayer time has sunk into a monologue, in which you recite
a list of needs and wants to God (or read Him the "riot act" for not
responding as you’d like), Stacey’s directions can help open your spiritual ears.
Freedom: When Cows Learn to Fly - by
Anne Meskey Elhajoui (Issue 114, Nov/Dec 1999).
(more links may be added in a later update of this web-document)
(see also the weblinks page)
| home |  | or back to the article index |
For more information, or your reaction to the above, you can contact me via e-mail: andre.roosma@12accede.nl.
André H. Roosma