Posted on: 23rd May 2022

A joyful invitation to worship

I love this time of year, when nature is bursting up from the ground with a multitude of colours, scents, and sounds. The trees are towering giants of vibrant green, each individual leaf dancing in the breeze. The flowers are like miniature, exquisite paintings all reflecting the glory of the painter. The whole of creation seems to be shouting out in complete awe of God!

When the crowds were joyfully praising Jesus as he rode through Jerusalem on a donkey, he said, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’ (Luke 19:40) Creation will continue proclaiming the goodness of God even if we don’t, but what a privilege and a joy it is that we have an invitation to join in with this worship!

I think worship is one of the most important things we can do in our lives. Powerful things happen when we worship that we can’t always see with our eyes. When we worship, heaven and earth begin to beat with the same heartbeat. When we worship, our perspective shifts and we begin to see things through the lens of heaven, where Jesus has victory over all death. This means that all things begin to come into alignment under Jesus, in our spirit, our minds and our physical bodies.

Worship is also a weapon. It creates an atmosphere that the enemy can’t penetrate. Take a look at 2 Chronicles 20:21. Worship leaders were appointed at the head of the army to lead everyone into battle! In that situation, the battle was won while they were praising, and they didn’t even need to start fighting.

Like that army, let’s make worship our priority. Try intentionally setting aside time for worship, from singing, dancing and making music to gardening, cooking and walking in nature! Time spent in worship is never wasted time. When these things are done with joyful attention on God, we are aligning ourselves with the things of heaven and joining in the joyful dance of praise that is already happening all around us, in creation and the spiritual realms!

Mary Swain

Dayspring Church Communications Manager