Ever found yourself in a place of knowing you should worship, but not having the “feelings” of worship? So have I! Thankfully, while worship can be emotional at times, it is not a requirement. God made us emotional beings - some more than others - yet emotions were never intended to be the mark or measure of whether we have truly worshipped, or we have not. All throughout the Bible, the thought of being “set”, whether using that word literally, or the equivalent meaning, plays a definite part in the aspect of worship. Feelings are fickle, but they will follow the determinations we make. More often than we would like, getting “set” is the worship Jesus is looking for.
I considered the word “set” for a minute. If I am setting the table, for instance, I pick up the plates and put them in their places and they stay there, as with cutlery, glasses, etc. If I set a course for a marathon, the lines are drawn, the direction is determined, and it doesn’t change part way through the race. When a sail on a boat is set, it is tied off to keep the sail from swinging around or back and forth. The wind can fill it and the boat will go only in that direction. We use the term “their face is set”, meaning that a course of action has been decided upon, and there will be no changing. Will we worship? We’d better get set.
Set the will. Making the choice to be a worshipper of Jesus is worship in itself. We’re going to have to set ourselves in this direction – and in this day of no commitment, no rules, no boundaries…just live by how you feel…making that kind of choice is not necessarily popular, but it is necessary. Our primary purpose as people created by God is worshipping, and yet it is so easy to compartmentalize our lives – this is work, this is recreation, this is worship, this is…hence the need to look at true worship. Worship is not meant to be a part of my life – it is my life. I can be a true worshipper of the Father everywhere, all the time, but, I will have to set myself that it will be so.
Set the mind. Paul said in Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” The word “affection” is literally translated “mind” or “interests”. Our minds are amazing and intricate – and, like sheep, they are prone to wander! In Philippians 4:11, we are told to think on certain things – things that are honest, fair, lovely, true, of good report, courageous and praiseworthy. Why did the Holy Spirit think it necessary to put that in the Bible? Because He knew that we would not naturally think on those things. We would need to set our minds on them. Deliberately taking our minds off that which is critical, negative, depressing, and worrying, and setting them on Jesus and all that He is not only leads us to worship, but it is worship itself. When we set our minds on Christ and all that is good, we are
worshipping Him!
Set the heart. “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him…” (Psalm
91:14) This is our great God speaking about those who set their heart on Him! Our society portrays love as simply a feeling, which is why relationships fail. Real love is an action word -
a choice that results in action - and God not only made love that way, but also showed us that’s what it means to love - “For God so loved the world, that He gave… (John 3:16). So, getting set in worship involves choosing to place our hearts, our love, our affection on God. When we choose to set our love on our Father, then we are worshipping Him by that simple choice.
Set the focus. Perspectives are powerful, and people are pointed in a direction by the perspective they allow themselves to have. Priorities matter – everyone has them. When our perspectives are offset, often our priorities get skewed. Setting our focus means allowing Jesus to take our perspectives and priorities and place them back on course. When our focus is on Jesus Christ, our perspectives and priorities stay on track, and we are able to worship freely. When our focus is on circumstances or people, our perspectives shift to earthly things and then our priorities become about how we need to fix a problem or a person. Worship then is challenged because we are distracted from Jesus. Having a set focus on Christ is worship. We may find ourselves in need of bringing our focus back to Him over and over again, but every time we do, we are worshipping the One Who matters!
Needing to worship? “Get set” with me…
Katherine
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