God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:24 KJV)

What is "Worship"?
Dictionary.com defines worship as:

noun

1.) a.) The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.

b.) The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

2.) Ardent devotion; adoration.

verb - transitive

1.) To honor and love as a deity.

2.) To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion.

verb - intransitive

1.) To participate in religious rites of worship.

2.) To perform an act of worship.

That's the plain and simple definition of worship. The truth is that worship for a true Christian is more.... much more. It's more than just sitting on a pew, singing a few songs. It's not something that happens just on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings. It's a way of life. It's giving yourself freely to God and desiring His will in your life, even if what He wants seems uncomfortable or a bit difficult for you to accomplish. It's a choice that you make 24/7/52 -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

By the way, even if what God wants seems uncomfortable or difficult, you just have to remember what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:8 (KJV):

"And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not, neither be dismayed."

Right about now you might be asking yourself a few questions, such as: "Why should I worship God and 'give myself freely' to Him (and what does that really mean anyway) and why would God ask me to do something that is uncomfortable or difficult?" You might even have other questions, but let's try addressing just these questions and one at a time. We'll also try doing this without using any "Christianese." (That's a language familiar to most Christians that tends to sound confusing or strange to non-Christians.) We might even attempt to translate a couple of Christianese words along the way.

"Why should I worship God?"
Here's one good reason that the Bible gives in Romans 5:6-11 (KJV):

That means Jesus tells you to "Come just as you are." He didn't say "Do as I say, be perfect and then I'll die for you." He died for you just as you are -- right here -- right now. You can't be good enough to earn your way into heaven anyway, even if you try. Here's why:

(Romans 3:23(KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.)

We all deserve death, but Jesus died for us even though we are sinners. That's what is called "grace" -- unmerited favor.

Doesn't that inspire worship? We have the opportunity to spend eternity in heaven, not because we earned it but because Jesus made a way for us through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the tomb. Jesus conquered death and offers us free passage to heaven if we only trust in Him. Doesn't that make you want to sing songs to Him and live the way He would want you to live?

Why should I give myself freely to Him?
In addition to the above, you should give yourself to Him because of what the Bible has to say in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV):

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

In other words, Jesus bought you and you belong to Him. So you should live your life the way He wants you to live because He's already paid for you. That's called "redemption." Unfortunately most people don't deliver to Jesus that for which He's already paid -- themselves. They choose to go their own way, do their own thing, and disregard the sacrifice that Jesus made for them. They act as if they can pay the price all by themselves. This couldn't be farther from the truth. We all need Jesus -- even if we don't realize it.

What does "give myself freely" really mean anyway?
Giving yourself freely means to do whatever God wants of you without questioning God or His motives, holding nothing in reserve. It means trusting that God wants the best for you and doing what He asks, knowing that His plan is the best plan and that, as long as you follow that plan, you will come out at the end of the situation in the best possible of places. ("For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV))

It means, once you know His will for your life, that you follow that will with all your might, trusting in Him to make things turn out ok in the end, even if you can't currently see the "light at the end of the tunnel." Some people might call this "blind" faith; but when you trust in God fully, you don't always have to know the "hows" and the "whys". You just need to know the "who" -- and that's God. When we trust God, that's a form of worship.

Why would God ask me to do something that is uncomfortable or difficult?
God knows that in order for us to grow, there must be some discomfort in our lives. Be honest: would you really turn and seek God on any basis, much less a regular basis, if everything in your life was always rainbows and smiles? Would you ever learn to look to and depend on Him if you could see everything coming down the road and avoid all the "potholes" in life, never taking a fall or even stubbing your toe? You probably wouldn't really see a need for God, if this were the case. You probably would keep traveling down the same road, never caring whether or not it was the wrong road. Well, guess what! Many people don't realize that's exactly the road they're on! ("There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25 KJV)

Some people look to God early in life and learn to try to see His hand in their situations; but others have to get to the lowest point in their lives before they ever decide to look up! They don't figure they need to look to God for help or guidance. They figure they're smart enough to do things on their own. It's only when they get to the "bottom of the barrel" that they begin to think they might need some help.

If we're really smart, we look early on for the messages that God is trying to send when difficulties come. The less we look to God, the more pain He has to bring into our life to get us to look up and seek His face. God loves us too much to let us go through life on the wrong road and not let us know. So He puts potholes, curves and detours in our way to try to get us back on the right path. Sometimes he even has to bar the way with a brick wall to make us stop and turn around. He often times sends difficulties into our lives to act as neon signs that say "Danger ahead! Go back!" When we realize what God wants and obey Him, that's a form of worship. ( If you want to see if you're on the wrong road, then check out our "Got Jesus?" section. )

The Bible says that God "prunes" us as a gardener does a tree. If a tree has too much weight on a limb, the limb can break under the load and die. If a tree has dead limbs on it, the limbs tend to weaken the tree. It can even "sap" the strength of the tree so greatly that it eventually dies. So the gardener prunes excess foliage and any dead limbs in order to save the tree and make it strong and fruitful. That's God -- the Master Gardener! He takes things out of our lives that weaken us and He works with us so that He can save us from certain death and make us strong in Him.

God is not just a god that sits on a throne looking down on us and "zapping" us when we do something He doesn't like. He is a loving God that desires a deep, personal relationship with us. That's what he had planned for Adam and Eve (and the rest of the world) in the garden of Eden. Sin made this plan impossible because God is holy and cannot just overlook sin. Jesus made it possible again though by the sacrifice He made on the cross at Calvary. Jesus paid the price for our sin, so that we might live eternally with God in heaven. The only way that we can make it to heaven now is by accepting the sacrifice that Jesus provided.

So that's God's plan - a loving and personal relationship between Him and us. Man's sin messed it up but Jesus fixed it. That's a great reason to worship God! He loves us that much!

If none of the above makes sense to you and you still don't see a reason to worship God through good times and bad, then try checking out the "Got Jesus?" page. It might just change your mind.