My Worship Autobiography

-A Journey Not Yet Finished-

Before

It began in my joyous home. Love was the overarching theme of my family, so worship seemed like the natural response of God's grace to me. As some background of myself, I reassured of my salvation at twelve years old and developed a desire to serve the Lord. There was little hardship throughout my life, and few difficulties were presented to me as a child. Although I longed to please God, I did not understand the severity of my need for him and of his generous kindness to me. Currently, I hope to break out of my comfortable life and to worship him wholeheartedly, without reservations. My reason to worship is becoming clearer each day, as God directs the path of my life.

During

Worship is beheld through both actions and words.

My parents inspired me to worship God constantly; not only by their words, but also through their actions. "And Jesus answered him, 'It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve’” (Lk. 4:8, ESV). I realized that my dad's daily prayer habits and continual Scripture reflections were the reasons that he remained genuinely kindhearted. Similarly, my mom's ritual of time spent with God in the morning and throughout her days allowed her to mediate during mine and my brother's immature bickering about whose musical opinions were more correct. Although they were imperfect, their examples, along with that of many other mentors from my church, showed me more than enough reasons to fully believe that there is a God who is worthy of praise.

Once I reached the middle school stage of life, worship in my youth group became exceedingly important to me. Because I had taken piano lessons since I was seven years old and sang in church at a young age, it made sense to play and sing for the youth group praise team. Soon afterwards, I took the opportunity to lead the teen worship band and to participate in the Sunday morning praise team. Music became a dire aspect of expressing my personal worship to God, and leading others in worship became a passion of mine, as well.

Because I come from a small town with few musicians, Satan found opportunities to incorporate pride into my worship, occasionally. I longed to praise God with a humble heart, but I am far from perfect. A necessary daily reminder is as follows: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). Now, I continue to find that in order to lead a congregation, or anyone, in worship, one must pray and meditate on Scripture consistently.

Just as there are different forms of learning (i.e. visual, audio, tactile, etc.), so also worship is beheld in various ways. I strive to worship both privately and corporately: privately, to grow in Christ personally, and corporately, to praise God and influence others to do the same.

Privately

I have found that studying Scripture is essential to maintain a close relationship with the Lord, and that his Word explains the concept of worship directly. Furthermore, prayer has allowed me to relate to God more deeply. Especially in recent days, I walk through life with uncertainty of my future. By the power of the Holy Spirit I am able to have peace, and I remain utterly grateful that he guides me. When I feel as if I have lost all control, I am reminded of the blessing that I was never meant to control my life; simply because my life is God's and he must lead me.

Corporately

Without private worship, corporate worship is most likely fabricated. Corporate worship can be built upon a personal relationship with Christ. When the two come together, a sense of pure unity is established. Worship is meant to glorify God and to make him known, therefore corporate worship is essential. Coming together with a main purpose of worshiping a mutual Savior is pleasing to the Lord. My home church allowed me to worship corporately through service, praise, mentoring, and teaching. I remain forever grateful for the influence that this community had on my life, but the eternal glory belongs to God.

What Now?

Looking forward, I do not know what tomorrow holds. Yet, I find peace in believing that God has called me to be where I am currently serving. Learning at a new college, growing at a new church, and serving wherever the need arises are some goals of mine, and I hope to worship the Lord through it all. His plan is far greater than I can imagine, and he will receive the ultimate glory forevermore.

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him" (Jn. 4:23).