Heart of Worship - Sarah Tan

Worship should propel us into greater obedience.

"If you cry during a worship, does it mean that you are a more 'hardcore' and faithful Christian?", a non-believer friend once asked me. 

I remembered how poorly I answered him that day, with the lack of better knowledge and confidence. Not only that, I recall questioning myself - 'what exactly is worship?'. 



This week, we were enlightened on the topic of the Theology of Worship by Rev. Tan Tiong Ann. With that, I must admit that due to my deficiency in the proficiency of the Chinese language, I will provide my best attempt in conveying what I have learnt in the paragraphs to follow. 



Putting it in Rev. Tan's words - "Worship is a divine human encounter" and that we are to worship God according to who God is and who we are. Honestly when he said that, the thought about how big and great our God is and how small I am really struck me. And that is why worship needs to be first and foremost reverent. 



The other idea that was revealed clearly to me is that worship is both an attitude and an act. It is not just merely singing the songs or listening to the Word, but also the state of our hearts and mind as we come before a Holy God, so full of love, power and sovereignty. 



The question then is, how much of this 'attitude and act' is present in our worship? 



Honestly, I must admit that I have been guilty of the lack of the former. Sometimes, we come to worship with heavy hearts, filled with many worries, fears and burdens. Distraction then steals the limelight of which we give in to. But we must remember that our God is able and that we can cast all our cares upon Him! Then should we not come to Him in worship with thankfulness and gladness in our hearts? A healthy state of mind, a heart yearning to learn more about God and the desire to encounter Him will then lead us to have the right attitude during worship. 



As we keep in mind His Reverence and the condition that we should be in as we come before God in worship, I believe it will ultimately help us to develop a more intimate and deeper relationship with Him, a better understanding of what He is revealing in our lives and for us to respond in submission.



So in my best understanding of all that is said above, I came to a conclusion (I really am not sure if it is too big an assumption to make) that worship should propel us into greater obedience, and if it does not then that is not worship.

Sarah Tan