Above All Else

With Hannah K

I first encountered the reality of God in worship – the reality that changed everything! I can still remember being struck by how people could love a God that they couldn’t see and the tangible presence I felt. For me, worship in spirit and truth is simply loving and acknowledging God above all else.

Glimpsing this reality of God released a new revelation and mindset, that nothing actually IS above God – we can put things above Him, but that’s not the truth. It’s a belief that He is more than enough, He is my portion. He knows my every need, His ways are above my ways. He has formed me, knows how I am made and the deepest thoughts of my heart, even the things I don’t understand about myself, He does.

Reality check

A warning light goes on when I notice things creeping into places in my heart that they shouldn’t be, if I’m starting to believe that they’re critical, that I cannot be happy without them.

In Jeremiah 2:13 The bible talks about drinking from ‘broken wells’ (when we go to other things as our primary source):

‘My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.’

Even the best blessings in life and all the world has to offer can’t hold living water. Blessings are life’s fruit and gifts, but they’re not the source. When we’re thirsty, we can delude ourselves into thinking that if we could only find / have / achieve this one thing then we would be filled, but once we get there, even if it is good, we find that it doesn’t fully satisfy. People that have achieved much often talk about this - Jim Carrey once said “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

Connecting our spirit with a greater reality

One of the hardest seasons I’ve experienced personally was having to let go of the desire to have children of my own. It was a long and painful journey. I did not know how I could be happy without realising a dream that I’d had as long as I could remember. I am grateful that I was (in faith) able to submit my heart to God and say, even though I don’t understand, even though it hurts, God I know that you can still lead me in a fulfilling life, because I have submitted this to you. I don’t know what it will look like, but I know it will be good.

Things can often look different to our expectations, but worship is life to our spirit because it connects us with a greater reality! It’s connection with the unchanging truth that God loves us and responding in submission and trust. In a recent service, Jess talked about sung worship as prophesying who God is to our very being. I love this about worship, that having even the smallest revelation about the reality of God, enough to declare it in song, can increase our revelation exponentially.

Prayer

Father, we surrender our hearts to you, show us if and where we’ve been looking to refresh our spirits in places that cannot hold water. Thank you that the water that you have given us is a spring within us…(John 4:14) and that nothing is above or beyond you. Teach us how to worship in spirit and in truth, revealing who you really are. Amen.

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