Fullness of Joy

After months of anticipation, July 15th finally came around. Twas the night of the Hillsong United Concert in Houston. Words cannot describe just how amazing it was. (I'll post some pictures and get into the details of our night on a different post.)

As we sang song after song, God's presence was so evidently in that arena. I haven't jumped up and down and clapped so much since college. And at the end of the night, my voice was worn and a bit wobbly from singing at the top of my lungs. There have been only a few times where I have felt the Holy Spirit move in such a powerful way. As the night progressed, I was just wishing that it was possible to stop time and just bask in His glory. But it is not practical to sing songs every second of every day. And sadly, Joel Houston is now back in Australia and unavailable to sing to me every waking moment (:

For some time now I have been trying to figure out how we can stay in His presence "when the music fades" (thank you Matt Redman). It is amazing to me how much peace and clarity comes as a result of us just worshiping God and telling Him how much we love Him. Maybe it's because we expect the Lord to meet with us when we are singing His praises. Our eyes are fixed solely on the Lord and we are ready to receive from Him. What if we expected him to meet with us during our day to day activities?

So how can we worship the Lord as a lifestyle? I think we can do that by obeying the Lord's commandment for us to love the Lord will all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. Jesus says in John 14:12 that "Whoever has my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. My Father will love him who loves me, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

We were created to worship. Worship strips away the layers of our heart to reveal what is really there. Being in His presence prepares us to hear what He is asking of us and to respond to His call. It brings us to the place of intimacy with the Lord that satisfies the longings in our hearts, fills every void, and brings joy. Worship is living a life of surrender and obedience to the revealed word of God. I pray that we can learn to continually seek Jesus' face, get into His presence, and grow in knowledge and love of our Lord. For there will be Fullness of Joy.