Jesus Over Everything: Notes For The Next Generation Of PlanetshakersSample

RUN TO YOU - WORSHIP

Let's be real. Not everything in life is perfect. Straight facts. And… not everything in this Christian life is perfect either. Because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, you and I stand perfect before God, but the reality of life is that our thoughts, habits, actions and reactions are still being perfected and the other people in your life are still not exactly perfect either. Basically what I’m saying is - even when we’re living for Jesus, stuff happens. Am I right?! Sometimes other people cause the stuff, but often we are part of causing it as well because we all mess up.

One of THE GREATEST little keys we can learn in living a life of worship, is that when the stuff happens - run TO God, not FROM God. Our worship is not just a response when good things happen or when we feel like we are doing good. It’s the response we need to learn when we’re right in the middle of a mess as well. We need to learn to run to Him in worship because He is our Refuge and Help (Ps 46:1, Prov 18:1) and has exactly what we need for whatever we’re facing. 

When we mess up, so many of us feel shame and allow that to hold us back from God. The further we run, the further we feel from Him and often from others too because we feel like no one else would understand what we’re going through. But it doesn’t have to be that way! We can run to Jesus because He understands exactly where we’re at and has grace to empower us to change AND we can be honest with others because we all face temptations and trials (1 Cor 10:13)

Can I encourage you? Living as a worshipper is not about having a perfect life. You and I don’t grow in God because we always get things right, but because we let Him into every part of our lives - even the mess! REAL worship from your heart is about running to Him and choosing to worship no matter what is happening. When I feel distant, when I feel disappointed, when I’ve messed up and when I don’t understand what’s going on. He is my refuge. When I have learned to run to Him in those moments, I have grown closer to Jesus than ever before!