Made To Worship

"Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
~Acts 14:8-11

People have an innate desire to worship, like it's part of our DNA, built into us. While science may never find the "worship gene," it was created within us when God created mankind. We see it in everyone; in what we desire and pursue. Fame, money, body image, friends, etc. What we pursue is what we worship. 

When I was young, I pursued a lot of different things. I tried on a few different religions, mysticisms, idealisms, and a few other ''isms" I can no longer recall. I pursued friends, rock n roll, drugs, alcohol, and men. I was like a boat on the seas with no rudder, just being tossed around on the waves of life with no destination in sight. I had no horizon by which to guide my journey. The one thing I did have was a praying grandmother I thank God for. Because of her prayers, I finally found direction, guidance, and fulfillment in life. When God called my name, I finally had sails and a rudder in the right direction.

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes (Ephesians 4:11-14)."

We see so much manipulation in today's world by politicians, celebrities, the media, social networking, and yes, even by some religious leaders. Our youth have no real direction and are being led "by human cunning." Adults fall for "deceitful schemes" that we see daily. And I believe it all goes back to that innate desire to worship, to have something bigger than we are, someone who can heal our wounds, guide our lives and fill the empty places within us. Unfortunately, we follow after what we see in front of us instead of what is real and enduring. We look to temporary fixes rather than to the eternal.

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)."

We are created with a God-shaped hole inside of us. We try to fill it with the things of this world but nothing fits quite right. Some of those things make us happy for moments in time but nothing makes us continually happy and content. Yet we continue shoving things in there, trying to force them to fit, trying to be happy, but always failing. Even the people we love are part of our attempt to find contentment. Being single doesnt make us happy - online dating services are at an all-time high and takes in more than $2B per year in revenue. Marriage doesn't make us happy - the divorce rate is around 53%. Being a parent stresses us out, so we find babysitters or hope grandparents are available. Work doesn't make us happy - 25% of the workforce changes jobs more than 15 times.

We try to be happy by using external means but the things around us only brings temporary contentment and happiness. To be truly content and happy, we must live from the inside out. The only way I have found to do that is in my relationship with Jesus Christ. The only One who can fill the God-shaped hole within us is God Himself, Jesus Christ. There is no substitute. No matter what we seek in this life, no matter what we worship around us, there will be no contentment until we worship the One we were created for. 

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:11).”

Read Judges 5-7

A Year of Blessings by Marie McGaha ©2018