How to Cultivate the Art of Everyday Worship
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.—Col. 3:17
I often think of worship as singing at church or sitting through a service. But how do we worship the Lord the other 167 hours of the week?
In Ruth Chou Simon’s book, Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship, she explores different ordinary ways of noticing and worshipping God in our everyday.
Through beholding creation and seeing His greatness.
Through mimicking God’s faithfulness as we perform daily chores.
Through stewarding the abundant resources He provides.
Through interpreting life’s failures and injustices through His perspective.
So how do we worship God in the everyday?
Start With Abiding in Christ
If we become what we behold (2 Cor. 3:18), and if God’s will is to conform us into the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29), then it is critical that we focus on the right thing.
We either are abiding in Christ, or we will default to something else. When we abide in Him and behold Him for who He is, then we have a proper view of ourselves.
Only God’s Word shows us who we are by showing us who He is. Only when we abide in Him, will we understand ourselves properly. Otherwise, we will buy into the world’s lie that we can create our own identity. So:
When we see His greatness, we understand our smallness.
When we see His faithfulness, we recognize our stewardship.
When we see His abundance, we understand our neediness.
When we see His justice, we can trust Him when life is unfair.
Abiding in Christ, beholding Him for who He is, restores us to our true identity.
What are you looking at today? If you are not abiding in Christ, what are you abiding in?
Keep An Eternal Perspective
Abiding in Christ also allows us to see the unseen reality that overlays what we see. It reminds us our lives are just a blip in an eternity that stretches forever, which in turn reframes the problems we face today.
Suffering becomes a means for God’s transformation.
Work is viewed as an opportunity to build His kingdom.
Death is understood as the doorway to life.
Blessings are appreciated as gifts from God, not evidence of our own greatness.
When we behold Him our perspective is enlarged and enriched.
How might remembering your eternal destiny impact how you view success, failure, trials, temptations, or injustice?
Worship Him in the Ordinary
Abiding does not mean we are walking zombies. Abiding results in active worship, a response of faith that expresses itself in the fruit of service.
As Paul tells us in Col. 3:17, “whatever” we do is to be done in His name. Whether it is what we speak or what we do, we are to seek to serve Him. First Corinthians 10:31 even includes glorifying God in the ordinary tasks of eating and drinking.
This is how our worship translates into everyday life. Every moment becomes an opportunity to worship—not just on Sunday morning but every day.
We can worship when we cook a meal or do housework.
We can worship when we discipline a child or listen to a friend.
We can worship when we struggle with failure or find ourselves treated unfairly.
Think about your everyday life or current circumstances. In what ways do they give you an opportunity to worship?
Summary
When our eyes behold Him, the Holy Spirit that lives in us slowly does the work of transforming us into the image of Christ, one degree of glory at a time (2 Cor. 3:18).
We prevent this transformation from happening when we forget the spiritual realities we live in. When we believe this world is all there is, then we will pursue its pleasures and believe its solutions.
Instead of befriending God, we cultivate a friendship with the world. We commit spiritual adultery through our idolatry—worship—of something else (James 4:4).
So, as Ruth says in her book,
“The question isn’t whether we will use our everyday moments to worship because we will—in the midst of ordinary places, people, sights, sounds, joys, and pains. How we direct our eyes, minds, hearts, and hands in the everyday will determine whom we ultimately worship and what we ultimately become. We were made to behold Him and be transformed in Him.”
How will you worship Him in the everyday today?
