"Wasting Time"

I love the title of Marva Dawn’s book on worship: A Royal “Waste” of Time. If the church is ever going to understand the meaning of worship, we must begin by losing ourselves in the splendor of our wonderful God. She begins her book with the following insight:

"To worship the Lord is—in the world’s eyes—a waste of time. It is, indeed, a royal waste of time, but a waste nonetheless. By engaging in it, we don’t accomplish anything useful in our society’s terms. Worship ought not to be construed in a utilitarian way. Its purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful. Rather, the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it. Moreover, it isn’t even useful for earning points with God, for what we do in worship won’t change one whit how God feels about us. We will always still be helpless sinners caught in our endless inability to be what we should be or to make ourselves caught in our endless inability to be what we should be or to make ourselves better—and God will always still be merciful, compassionate, and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and ready to forgive us as we come to him.

Worship is a royal waste of time, but indeed it is royal, for it immerses us in the regal splendor of the King of the cosmos. The churches’ worship provides opportunities for us to enjoy God’s presence in corporate ways that take us out of time and into the eternal purposes of God’s kingdom. As a result, we shall be changed—but not because of anything we do. God, on whom we are centered and to whom we submit, will transform us by his Revelation of himself."

Make it a goal for this upcoming year to set aside time to spend with God and worship Him. It will be hard because our culture has taught us that silence and solitude is a waste of time. Resist that feeling and learn how to quiet your soul before God and listen to Him.