Worship in my Offering

He makes his home in me.
And I, I live inside
the house of love,
his banner flapping bright above,
his pleasure my desire.

I bring him blooms to grace
the place he sets for me
(no matter that, outdoors,
corruption slimes the world
and evil lurks in gray).

I will not fear. For he is here,
my God, and where he is
we live in love. He who made
the violets and hibiscus
for his delight and mine

smells the worship in my offering
and smiles. Together we
will garrison my strength
against the storm
here where it’s warm.

When I take my morning walk here in Detroit, my heart erupts in praise to the Creator when I see irises or tulips. Back in my Ferke courtyard, the blooming hibiscus, frangi pani and wild violets had the same impact. God’s gift of beauty in a dry land brought joy to my soul and awe at his imagination. What an incredible variety of flowers he thought of! When I thanked him, I realized I was worshiping his artistic bent, his love of beauty. I was walking with him in his garden.

I drafted this poem just one month before war broke out in Côte d’Ivoire. Looking back, I am amazed that it flowed from my pen, preparing me for the upcoming season of fear and anxiety. The Lord was telling me where my stability must be anchored: in him! When he lives in us, that inner home is built on the Rock and stands firm in the storm (cf. Mat 7:24,25), even when other (visible) homes become inaccessible.

In times of distress it becomes easy to slip into prayer that is filled with lament and petition; they are truly acceptable to our loving God. We  were evacuated, and we gave heartfelt thanks for our rescue and the way the Lord supplied what we needed. However it became easy to lose a focus on worship as we tried to navigate all the uncertainty.

I have learned that true worship grows stronger and stronger on the journey of knowing and loving God. Knowing about him is great, but truly knowing him requires personal relationship, living life in his company.  It starts with being reborn to life in him. Then he gives us his Spirit to live in us and show us the way forward. And, as A.W. Tozer said, that fellowship with the Triune God grows our character so that we can become increasingly like him, living in line with his priorities and commands:

“If God has called you out of darkness into His light, you should be worshiping Him. If He has shown you that you are to show forth the excellencies, the virtues, the beauties of the Lord who has called you, then you should be humbly and gladly worshiping Him with the radiance and the blessing of the Holy Spirit in your life.”[1]

Learning about God through the Scriptures is definitely essential (for those of us who have access to them in our language!). But this must become more than just knowledge of facts.

“If [knowledge] remains purely conceptual, it is fragmentary. If must continue to do its inward work until it transforms Christ-followers according to the image of Christ and reshapes Christian communities. . . This leads us to passionate love for God, genuine worship of the Trinity, true community with fellow Christians, and loving service . . . all to the glory of God. That is what it means to know and love the true and living God. Absolutely nothing matters more.”[2]

It does matter to God whether we learn to truly love and worship him! Yes—he is looking for people who will do this, citizens of his Kingdom who delight in him. As he told the Samaritan woman at the well:

²³ But a time is coming– and now is here– when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (Jn. 4:1 NET)

We cannot see God, while in his Kingdom here on earth, but we can interact with him through his Spirit and the truth that he shares with us. What a journey! It delights the Father, and brings true delight to us. It is not a show, not a performance. It is deep ongoing spiritual formation.

I plan to delve into this training in the coming weeks, focusing my own heart increasingly on “loving the LORD [my] God with all [my] heart and with all [my] soul and with all [my] might. (Deut. 6:5 ESV). Join me on the journey!

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[1] Tozer, A W. Worship: The Reason We Were Created-Collected Insights from A. W. Tozer (p. 28). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[2] Clark, David C. To Know and Love God: Method for Theology. (Crossway Books, 2003) 424.