“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8
“The life of discipleship is not the hero-worship we would pay to a good master, but obedience to the Son of God.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Hello moms, Let’s talk about worshipping by living out the truth of God’s Word as a form of worship.
- “Worship,” as defined in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, means to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission. As you dig into today’s study, ponder this definition, and invite God to give you ears to hear what He may whisper into your heart today.
- Open up your Bible and read Isaiah 55:8 and Isaiah 30:21. Write both of these powerful verses in your journal.
Wisely Choose His Way
Gathering around our dinner table one evening, my family cracked open the Bible to check how each person’s behavior stood up against the truth of God’s Word. Tension had been building among our children, emotions were heightened, and hearts were tender.
My husband and I asked our children, “What does submitting to Truth look like? Are we truly loving each other?”
One child clearly announced his knowledge of God’s Word to answer the first question, but knowledge alone can’t answer the second. We reminded him that what’s often harder than knowing God’s Word is living by that Word and letting it transform you.
In return, we posed the question, “Has it become you?” Eyes turning up, he listened, and we continued, “Knowledge is just information, but wisdom is applying that information. What you know needs to become who you are.”
As we abide in Christ, renewing our minds with truth, letting God align our hearts, and submitting to who He is, we are strengthened to die to our fleshly desires and let His love live through us. Letting God change our hearts into His likeness is a sincere and powerful form of worship. Letting God live and love through us is the catalyst that reveals to those around us the God who is our source of worship.
For us moms, the daily routine of motherhood provides plenty of opportunities to lay down our lives and submit to God’s will over our own. Our heart’s desire as Christian mothers is to be women who model the character of Christ by walking in obedience to God and choosing to make the most of every opportunity. Just like our children found that discussing what the Bible says about living peacefully is easier than actually doing it, I am often reminded that knowing I should model Jesus to my family is harder than it seems.
In my own struggle to love like Christ, I often fail to respond to the way my Father is calling me to walk by His loving Word. There are days when I impatiently insist on my own way, and others when I’m quick to anger and slow to offer grace. I react to my children’s missteps instead of responding with the patience and gentleness that Jesus has demonstrated for us. I try so hard, but parenting is tough! No matter how well we know the Scriptures or the latest parenting techniques, no one can be a perfect parent, and God doesn’t expect that from us. But He does want us to make it our daily aim to obey what we read in the Word of God, and to do that by the power of His Holy Spirit. It is not by our might, or by our power, but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
God will help us choose to obey and abide in Jesus over our fleshly desires and even our to-do lists, and, when we do, we are truly worshipping Him. By exalting God and choosing to worship Him through our daily attitudes and obedience, even when they are not 100% perfect, we are worshipping God. We are living out the good guideline given to us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV) that shows us the godly and loving attitudes we should aspire to live out:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Has love become who you are? It is a helpful gift for the Lord to instruct us by offering, “This is the way, walk in it.” Choose patience, act kindly, be gentle, consider others better than yourself, outdo one another in showing honor, go the extra mile, and serve with a grateful heart. Model this lifestyle for your children, and pray that they will learn to do the same. Wholly submitting to God, who He is, and how He calls us to live is our greatest act of worship.
Blessings and Love,
Jennifer K.
Questions to Ponder
- Do you recognize that your fleshly desires are not His desires?
- Do you acknowledge that His ways are higher and bring more peace than your ways?
- Ask God for help to obey what He tells you to do in His Word. He will help you. In fact, He doesn’t even want you to try to do anything alone (John 15:5). Rejoice in this truth today!
Faith-Filled Ideas
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 again and ask God to highlight the areas that you need to work on in order to grow into His likeness.
Take one truth, one Scripture, one word, and let it become who you are, even if it takes an entire year. It would be better for God to grow you into His likeness over an entire year than for a year to be wasted on more knowledge that isn’t applied.
- A Wise Woman Stays the Course - July 18, 2021
- How Beautiful are the Gentle Peacemakers - May 16, 2020
- A Wise Woman Listens - January 30, 2020