The first time the word worship was mentioned in the Bible was in Genesis 22. God had commanded Abraham to go and sacrifice the son of his old age whom he really loved. Although Abraham had waited many years for this promised child, he was now being asked to go and sacrifice him on a mountain that he would show him. You can imagine the gravity of what God was asking Abraham to do.
Abraham got up very early the next day and decided to obey God’s command without any delay. He prepared all that was required to sacrifice his son and began a three day journey into the unknown. Can you imagine the thoughts that must have gone through Abraham’s mind as he journeyed for three days in order to sacrifice his son? He probably even second guessed himself and asked if he heard God right. The book of Hebrews chapter 11 gave us a glimpse of what was going through Abraham’s mind as he considered obeying God's instruction. In verse 19, we were told that Abraham reasoned within himself that God was able to bring the young man back to life after he sacrificed him. Regardless of how Abraham must have felt, he surrendered and submitted his will to God’s will.
After travelling for three days, he finally saw the place where he was supposed to carry out the assignment. As soon as he saw the place, he had this to say the young men that went with him;
“Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and WORSHIP, and we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5 (NKJV)
Abraham described his attempt to obey God and surrender his son whom he loves as worship. There was no music played and no slow song was sung. Yet, a man walking in obedience and absolute surrender to God called this act, ‘worship’. This story shows us that whilst we may express worship through music, it is more than music. True worship primarily starts from a place of obedience and surrender to God.
Jesus went through the same ordeal in the garden of Gethsamane where He prayed to His Father to let the cup of dying on the cross pass over Him. In spite of His feelings, He submitted His will to the will of His Heavenly Father.
In the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 6, David and his men experienced a setback in their attempt to bring back the ark of God to Jerusalem because they did not follow the right order. Their intentions were good but their actions were contrary to God’s ordained method of how the ark must be transported. Uzzah, one the men noticed the ark was stumbling and decided to help out of good intention but he died as a result (1 Chronicles 13:10). Therefore, acceptable worship is not just good intentions: It is the absolute obedience and surrender to God’s order and command.
God is seeking for true worshipers who will worship him in spirit and truth. For our worship to be acceptable, it must be done on God’s terms and not our terms. The expectation of worship ultimately lies with God and not us. Worship begins when we know what God expects of us and we walk in obedience and surrender to His will regardless of how we feel.
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