Heart of Worship

"Then Job arose and tore his robe and 

shaved his head and fell on the ground 

and worshiped."

              Job 1:20

The story of Job, whether taken as historical fact or allegorical parable, still brings these thoughts and questions from God. 

1. How can a man who has lost everything be blessed by God?

2. Will Job (you?) still serve God even when things go bad for you?

3. What does it mean to worship God in everything?

We have heard and read in Samuel that God does not judge by appearances, like man, but rather, God judges the heart. Here in Job, we see a man who is blessed with the favor of God, yet in that favor, he loses everything. Job is a mourning man, stripped of all of his property and his children, yet he is more blessed than any other. God himself calls him a blameless and upright man. 

In our society, we think that the favor of God means money, positions of power and authority, influence and perhaps even a "following". But being blessed by God can also mean homelessness, poverty, sickness, and pain. Because, as we see in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Man's chief end is to glorify God, and we can glorify God in ALL circumstances, especially in the hard times.

Which leads us to my second point; Job's response to heartache and loss is to fall to the ground and worship God. Even his wife encourages him to turn away from God, to "curse God and die." But instead of turning away, Job turns toward God in worship. It's so easy for me to get wrapped up in life. I don't inherently consider myself blessed. I let the little things get to me. I get easily overwhelmed. I'm not great at trusting in Him. But even aside from the trusting, is my first response to heartache, loss, sickness and pain to worship? Or is that my last resort? Do I turn to everything else before I turn to the One who created all things? 

So, what does it mean to worship God in everything? What does a heart of worship look like? My bible has a devotional page on the first chapter of Job, and that devotion says this: 

"Worship sometimes looks like a broken man

shaving his head, wailing upon the

ground."

That's what a heart of worship looks like. It's not a fancy band that sounds perfectly in tune where all the members look and sound like rock stars. It's not always hand-clapping and dancing in the streets. Sometimes it's honoring God through loss and tears and pain. Sometimes worship sounds more like a wail than a song. But both bring glory to God.