Good grief! What a week this has been! Topsy turvy, stressful, conflicted, heavy. I struggled to get a grip on my thoughts, my choices and emotions.

And there it is…the making of a worship disorder. I was so focused on the stressful situation to an exaggerated point that it began to consume my mind, will and emotions. That is a worship disorder.

Before you can understand what a worship disorder is, you  need to answer this question first, “What is worship?”   I like how Tim Keller defines Worship:

“Worship is an act of ascribing ultimate value to something in a way that engages your entire being.”

Obviously, I had ascribed to something of “value”… but in a very negative way, so much so that it was palpable in my home environment. I had amazing support, faithful prayers, and words of affirmation from my family but it wasn’t until I purposefully and with intentionality transferred all of that which was robbing my joy over to God that my entire being became filled with peace and equilibrium.

Photography by Donna Harris :: Remember the Year

Psalm 95:1-11 is the coach that got me moving out of a worship disorder

Verse 1 of that Psalm spoke to my emotions: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!”  It requires emotion to sing, to dance, to shout joyfully because God is the rock of my salvation. And God gave me a song.

Verse 6 spoke to my will: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” This took a humble volition, a choice to come, bow, and kneel before the Lord.  This act was the surrender.

Verse 8 spoke to my mind: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart…”  This meant I needed to actively listen to truth and choose to hear God speak through his Word. This is experiencing peace. This is experiencing forgiveness. 

Bit by bit by bit the more I worship, the more it changes where my  heart looks for peace and satisfaction.

The worship of the living God gives us peace and equilibrium to face the troubles of life. Worship engages our entire being in adoration and brings us to a sense of joy in God’s ravishing beauty. ~Tim Keller