Worship — for my greatest good

A well-known Christian educator, Howard Hendricks, says that human beings resist change yet for Christians, change is our destiny.

His comment ties in with Bible promises like Romans 8:28-29. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

How God uses “all things” to change me is amazing enough, but another related verse says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). This one says that even looking at Him changes me!

My devotional book points out that the revelation of the glory of God produces worship, and as a person worships God for what they have seen, they participate in that glory. As this verse says, then I am being transformed into that same image.

Yesterday I thought about the reverence and fear that happen in my heart as I gaze at the glory of the Lord. That happened to Isaiah as well. He saw the Lord “high and lifted up” and was immediately convicted of his own lowly condition. He said, “Woe is me” and confessed his sinfulness. But he didn’t turn away. As he stayed before the Lord, he was cleansed from that sin, then God invited him to serve Him.

My book calls this a spiritual progression of true worship. First there is revelation or a vision of the holy God of glory. This is overwhelming in that I see myself in contrast to His glory, and that produces guilt and shame. However, as I confess my sin to Him (and woe is me if I try to avoid it), He cleanses me based on what Christ did on the cross. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Then, just as after Isaiah confessed and was called to greater service, I too am better able to hear the voice of God directing my life.

Revelation or seeing the glory of God demands a response. If I correctly understand what I see, it will show up in my life. God will change me, make me more like Jesus, and give me a great desire to participate in His glory. Nothing else will matter, and never again will I be trivial in my worship for I will see that God intends it not only for Himself, but for my greatest good.