Apparently it's okay to tell God we're disappointed in Him or to question His character. He can handle it; He is secure in His God-ness. In fact, it seems that questioning God is not only allowed but encouraged.

Working through doubt is a necessary and healthy part of the spiritual journey. The psalmists cried out to God because they believed, in spite of their despair, that God was still just. They boldly questioned God in an effort to comprehend Him.

Ironically, wrestling with doubt ultimately builds faith. At the height of his suffering, Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him." (Job 13:15)

Though I've never suffered like Job, I, like all people, especially artists, have faced my fair share of adversity. At various times, I too have questioned God's goodness. But I keep coming back to a simple statement of faith often expressed in time of trouble: God, you are still my God even when life is hard.

My fellow artists, may your image of God be true, and when life is difficult, may you wrestle openly and honestly with who God is and discover that, in spite of circumstances, He is still sovereign, powerful, holy, good, gracious, loving, compassionate, merciful, wise, and faithful.

Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within;
May Your joy be seen in all I do —
Love enough to cover ev'ry sin
In each thought and deed and attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

Holy Spirit, from creation's birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show your power once again on earth;
Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ
Will be clear for all the world to see.

When I launch into the depths of God's mercy, I lose my excuses, and I actually start going somewhere -- somewhere I've never been before. A world of uncharted waters for my venturing soul opens up before me. I leave behind the small calculations of my shoreline existence and am buoyed by the ocean of His grace. New possibilities exist for me out in the ocean -- new ways of seeing myself and those around me -- and new ports of call.

Like John, people must guard against idolatry even while serving God. We tend to make "sacred cows" out of the most undeserving candidates. Our adherence to a tradition or a certain way of doing church can become an obsession that's more about us than about God. Though convinced we're doing God's work, such rigidity could actually be stifling that work. Similarly, if our insistence of a particular worship style becomes more important than connecting with God or causes us to judge, malign, or mistreat others, we are worshiping 'created things rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). And be careful about becoming addicted to the euphoric adrenaline rush that worship can sometimes be. We are not to be worshiping worship. We are to worship the living God.

Lord, Help Me: A Prayer for Healing

My Father,
there is so much I would have
different--and which I believe
You would have different too. I want
to make a start. I think it must begin
in me. But where?
Lord, help me.

And there are others--like this poor woman's daughter --
whom I would bring to You as she brought this great,
this overwhelming need.
There are friends and neighbors I feel
so powerless to help. People I love,
dangerously near the rocks, far from their true home,
possessed by many demons
of our modern world. How can I help them?
How can I serve them better?
Lord, help me.

My own deep places --the
unremembered scars which limit me today;
the unhealed wounds that make me less
than whole--
Lord, help me.

My faith is not great, Lord. Indeed
I do not always want true healing.
There are attractions in a certain
undemanding invalidism. But I want
what You want. I trust You where I do not trust myself.

So be my bread of life, Lord Jesus.
Nourish, sustain, and heal.
Help me according to Your will.
May my dumb spirit testify,
my weakness mend,
my blind eyes see,
my heart rejoice.
Lord, help me.

Let's be clear with ourselves and the members of our congregation. Worship is simply GIVING our selves and our lives (again) to God. Giving is at the heart of worship. We give ourselves and our lives to the Father because we trust His goodness, and embrace His greatness. With this understanding, worship may seem more like a wrestling match, and less like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Surrendering my life again to God isn't something I enjoy, because I die to myself every time I do it.

On the flip side of the coin, let's be equally clear about what worship is not. Worship is not about the feelings we get when we sing. We will experience wonderful feelings, and that's good, but those feelings are not worship, nor do they make worship "great." Worship is not about convincing God to bless us. Worship is not about what's happening on the stage. Worship is not about entertainment, lighting, or sound.

Worship is not about us at all.

Every week, we are involved in crafting worship services. Worship services. Worship. It's not about anything other than helping people to lift their eyes to the Savior of the universe, and to respond to the holy gaze in which they find themselves.

May we be worship leaders, pastors, and media junkies who give people Someone worth gazing at. And may we do it week in and week out. Honestly, there is no greater calling.

"A man of knowledge uses words with restraint." - Proverbs 17:27

"We are more anxious to speak than to be heard." - Henry David Thoreau

"When you have nothing to say, say nothing." - Charles Caleb Colton

"They always talk who never think." - Matthew Prior

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact." - George Eliot (Marian Evans Cross)

"There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are already listening to what they are going to say themselves." - Albert Guinon

"Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you." - Spanish proverb

It should be clear by now that true worship leads to a life of faith and obedience. It is the purpose of worship, on the human side, to inspire faith and devotion to the Lord, not just for an hour, but for the whole week and for the whole life. This was the emphasis of the preaching of the prophets and the teaching of Jesus and the apostles; and this emphasis was based on the significance of worship as a covenant renewal, a ritual that not only celebrated the blessings that God has bestowed on his people through Christ but also reminded the people of their own covenant responsibilities.

At the heart of faithful obedience is personal holiness and righteousness. True worship has no place for gossip, slander, malice, envy, strife, control, or any other sin that destroys worship. Our celebration of being at peace with God must issue in living in peace with other believers. Our covenant obligations do not stop with out purging out the leaven from our lives. There is a positive side of righteousness that calls for action. If the church claims to be worshipping but has no interest in helping the poor and the homeless, the widow and the orphan, the oppressed and the foreigner, or in championing justice and equity in society, then the worship is empty. And if the worship does not prompt the work of evangelism and missions, or simply sharing the faith, then the worship has not been led by the Spirit of God. With these and many other serious matters we may test whether worship has fully achieved what God has designed it to achieve.

— Allen P. Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation

When you accept whatever situation you are in without murmuring, you are worshipping Me.

When you can rejoice with Me in the midst of your infirmities, you are worshipping Me.

When I have brought pressures to bear upon you to bring out the gold of My nature and you bear them patiently – blaming not Me, or another person, nor yourself, then you are truly worshipping Me.

When you can “forgive yourself” for your weaknesses and failures and cease expecting your human nature to bring forth perfection, you are worshipping Me.

When you have come to the place of recognizing and acknowledging that “of myself I can do nothing,” then do I have your praise.

When you can look upon a wasted life and agree that I can and will make this one every whit whole – that this is My desire – then you have offered Me true worship, for you have seen My true nature.

When you look upon My natural creation and the beauty of it and magnify Me, then am I worshipped.

When you hear My Word within you saying “This is the way – walk in it” and you obey My word with rejoicing, I feel worship from you.

When you look with compassion upon one who is afflicted, tossed, and broken, then am I worshipped.

When you recognize My Body and honor them as My brothers and sisters, this is true worship unto me.

When you lips are silent because of your pain, and you lift your heart to Me, I feel your worship.

When you say, “I cannot – please help me!” then am I worshipped.

Worship is a heart attitude in every place and situation in which you find yourselves. It acknowledges My Lordship, the righteousness of My nature, the truth of My Word, and the reality of My indwelling presence. You may offer true worship at all times and in every situation by keeping your heart right toward me and toward your fellow believers.

But in fact, for many people and pastors, the event of "worship" on Sunday morning is conceived of as a means to something other than worship. We "worship" to raise money; we "worship" to attract crowds; we "worship" to heal human hurts; we "worship" to recruit workers; we "worship" to improve church morale; we "worship" to give talented musicians an opportunity to fulfill their calling; we "worship" to teach our children the way of righteousness; we "worship" to help marriages stay together; we "worship" to evangelize the lost among us; we "worship" to give our churches a family feeling, etc., etc.

In all of this we belittle worship and God. Genuine affections for God are an end in themselves...

I am not denying that vital corporate worship might have a hundred good effects on the life of the church. It will, like true affection in marriage, make everything better. My point is that to the degree that we "worship" for these reasons, it ceases to be authentic worship. Keeping satisfaction in God at the center guards us from that tragedy.

Without our relizaing it, worship can become a commodity, or used as a means to an end. This creates an ever-increasing pressure within the local church to see worship as something to be used for many different purposes: a church growth tool; an evangelistic device; an atmosphere setter; a warm-up for the preaching of the Word; a source of income through publishing and recording; and the list goes on.

We are constantly evaluating the effectiveness of worship by the response of people. We paint a picture of God as a Being who is there for our benefit, and we view worship as designed to reinforce our basic selfishness, masked under "meeting our needs."

The fact is, worship is an end in itself. It is for God. To lose sight of Him is to lose sight of worship altogether. All begins and ends with Him.

The stance is not passive, however. This kind of worship is engaging. [In the book of Revelation we read that] the elders were moved by the revelation of who It was they stood before, and by a deliberate act of the will they bowed.

The resulting power of this kind of worship shifts the focus from the worshippers to the One being worshipped. The attention shifts from the worship team, the choir, the liturgist and the preacher to the Lord. No long is worship about performance and presentation. God is present. This posture is deliberate, not waiting for a mystical presence but stepping into the reality of who God is. No longer is worship simply about receiving a touch and getting goose bumps. God is here, and His kingdom has come. The presence of God is no longer out of reach; the Kingdom is here and manifest amongst us.

I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stray too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world –
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There’s no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it…
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door – the door to God.
The most important thing any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch – the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man’s own touch.
Men die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter –
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it – live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him…
So I stand by the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in –
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics –
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening…

So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. “Let me out!” they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much;
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving – preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away.
So for them, too,
I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door –
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But – more important for me –
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.

'I had rather be a door-keeper'
So I stand by the door.