If you have to wear a dress to church, it might as well be a swirly, twirly dress. That was the main criteria I expected from any dress I wore as a child. Why did it need to be twirly? Because when I went to church, the first notes of “Days of Elijah” or “Shout to the Lord” would begin to play and I would go into the aisle and start dancing to the music. It was how I participated in worship and even today while worshiping you can see me swaying or moving a little/a lot. As an adult though I don’t move as freely as I did when I was seven.
Last week I wrote about how God is no longer separated from us and how Anna felt the need to be as close to God as she could in the time she lived in. This week I want to discuss how:
We (mankind) are created to worship
When Anna was widowed she could have returned to her own father’s house and tribe, but instead she went to her heavenly Father’s House, the Temple. Anna didn’t care that it might be odd that she was there all the time. She knew her purpose and walked out that purpose everyday: to worship God.
In Psalm 100:2-3 (TPT) Moses wrote,
“Worship Yahweh with gladness. Sing your way into his presence with joy! And realize what this really means— we have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God. For he is our Creator and we belong to him. We are the people of his pleasure.”
What a privilege Anna was given. A privilege we Christians often take for granted or don’t participate in because we don’t want others to think we are weird. I am completely guilty of this as an adult. Somewhere between being a child, who didn’t care what people thought, and an adult, who cares too much, I have kept to the “acceptable” ways of worship (Cue Tim Hawkins video on Hand Raising). I lift my voice and my hands and worship, but there are moments when I feel the need to dance, but instead I root my feet to the floor because I don’t want to be a distraction to anyone. Instead I distract myself from the worship, which is just as damaging.
I want to encourage you to be like Anna and give into worship. For me, it might mean giving in to the need to dance. For you, it might mean raising your arms above your waist or maybe even above your head. God is there, patiently waiting to hold your hand and connect with you.
Will you reach out?
Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.
Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash