Worship can turn the most miserable circumstances into a wonderful time. In the book of Acts we read of Paul and Silas, who were beaten and thrown into a cold, dark, stinking dungeon for preaching the gospel. But at midnight Paul and Silas began singing praises to God. They worshiped the Lord. As they sang, an earthquake came, and the entire prison fell apart. (Talk about bringing the house down.)
It’s wonderful when you can be lifted up through worship. I’m not talking about mind over matter; I’m talking about faith over circumstances. I’m not talking about positive thinking; I’m talking about honoring God, who is still on the throne no matter what you’re going through.
God may deliver you immediately from your situation as He did with Paul and Silas. Or He may not. Sometimes when you worship the Lord, your problems don’t go away, but they don’t seem as significant. It’s not because your problems have disappeared. It’s because you have reevaluated things. As you worship the Lord and think about His glory, His power, His splendor, and His love, then you see Him in perspective.
The word worship comes from an old English word that means “worthship.” We should worship God because He is worthy. No matter what we’re going through, no matter what our circumstances may be, God merits our worship. The Bible says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:1). We worship God in spite of our circumstances, in spite of what we’re going through, because God merits and deserves our worship. And He is always worthy of our worship.
God made us to worship Him. God made us to bring Him pleasure. And God is pleased when we worship Him with a proper heart.