“…She knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” — Luke 7:38 (NLT)
As the woman knelt behind Jesus, the injustice of the way her Lord had been treated seems to have overwhelmed her. She started to cry, her tears falling onto his feet.
Maybe she started crying because she recognised that the God of the universe was sat in front of her and she was overcome with awe! We know that she had faith because Jesus said to her in verse 50 “your faith has saved you”.
Or maybe she understood the gravity of her own sin and what it must’ve cost God himself to leave the beauty and splendour of heaven and come to earth.
Or maybe she was just completely blown away with love for the man who humbly received this act of anointing, despite what those around him thought, because of his love for her!
Whatever the reason, we can take away the truth that emotions are an essential part of our worship.
5.
It’s OK to be emotional – in fact, it’s recommended!
Worship is a time when we approach God in relationship with him, with authentic feelings and emotions. We shouldn’t let our emotions control our worship and we shouldn’t allow our emotions to dictate our actions – but they can serve to help enhance it.
When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is, he commands to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. Our emotions are a part of this (for more on this see my previous blog “How to Love with All”)!
Emotions were created by God and when harnessed for love towards our heavenly father they serve to enhance our ability to worship him. In the same way that saying “I love you” to a spouse with a completely emotionless vibe would not be the secret formula to a long and happy marriage, worshipping God without any emotion will not lead to a very intimate relationship with our creator.
Psalm 98:4 implores us shout for joy to the Lord. Our response to the love that we have for God, because of the love that he first had for us (1 John 4:19) should be one of overwhelming, uncontainable joy and gladness!
When everything is going well it can be easy to worship and serve. But when life is difficult, when it’s stressful, when it’s challenging, when it’s overwhelming, worshipping God can feel impossible. Despite our never changing God who is always faithful to us, our belief and trust is oftentimes swayed by our emotions and the circumstances we find ourselves facing.
We know there are times when worshipping, or in fact doing anything with joy, is extremely difficult. But joy and gladness aren’t the same thing as happiness. We can be joyful because of who God is and the ultimate price Jesus paid at the cross, whilst still mourning the season we are in – the death of a relative, the negative doctor’s report, the breakdown of a relationship.
In these times, when it seems everything around us is falling apart, we are commanded to cry out to God. We don’t have to be afraid to lay our emotions at the feet of Jesus. We don’t have to leave the pain behind to worship. We don’t have to worship in spite of the pain – we are able to worship in the midst of it (for more see my previous blog “What to Do When We Don’t Feel Like Worshipping”)
6.
Worship must be authentic if it is to be an acceptable offering to God
“For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” — John 4:24 (emphasis added)
Throughout the Psalms we see the expression of all kinds of emotions. Whatever we are feeling, whether that be pain, sadness, bitterness and resentment, or joy, wonder, excitement and thankfulness, this is what we need to bring to the feet of Jesus. If the most that we can do is cry out, then we cry out to God. Bring what you have. And see what God does!
“The presence of God is not a place for us to bypass our emotions, [rather] the presence of God is a place for us to process our emotions.” (Wade Joye, Elevation Church “The art of sampling”)
Worship can be messy. It can be undignified and it can sometimes be smelly. There can be joy, tears, laughter, groaning, wild dance moves, reverent kneeling. Anything. But never nothing. Never apathy, self-righteousness or indifference. Emotions, when we harness them to enhance our relationship with God rather than letting them control us, are an essential element of living a lifestyle of extravagant worship.
“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” — 1 Chronicles 29:13
Thank you God that You are an incredible God, creator and Lord over my emotions
Please help me to learn to love you with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength.
Help me to use all I have, every part of my being including my emotions to worship you fully.
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