Worship isn’t just a song to God. It isn’t just a church congregation gathering together to praise the Lord. Yes, these are ways to worship, but worship is so much more than a song. It’s so much more than words that come out of our mouths. Worship is a lifestyle. Worship is yielding ourselves to the Lord and exalting him with our tongue, mind, body, and deeds. Every hour of every day should be as worship unto the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “So, whatever you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Our lives were given to us by God, and it is our purpose and honor to give them back to Him in worship through the way that we live.
You may sing praises to God on Sunday, but are you honoring Him in your speech throughout the week? Is what you say pleasing to God, or are you gossiping about your coworkers or constantly complaining? Are you speaking words of gratitude and thanksgiving to God out loud, but in your mind lives ungratefulness, criticism, and pride? Are you saying, “Lord all I am is yours,” and yet you give your body away to others? Are you saying, “Lord use me for your glory,” and yet your actions reflect everything but obedience and servant-heartedness? Are you a worshiper, or do you simply “worship” God on your own terms, based on your own feelings?
Worship is not one moment of adoration, it’s a continual, daily act of surrender. Are you living your life for God? Are you fully submitted to Him in every moment? Worship is full devotion to our heavenly Father, and having a deep awe and reverence for our Creator. Worship is obedience to God in everything He asks of us. It is enjoying God and all that He is, doing everything for his glory.
Living a lifestyle of worship is waking up and choosing God right away. It’s choosing to submit your thoughts to Him. It’s speaking life instead of negativity. It’s treating our bodies as temples of the Lord. It’s choosing to be grateful and content in all circumstances. It’s honoring Him by giving our best in everything we do, working to please the Lord above all. Worship is choosing to set aside intentional time with God daily with the ultimate goal of knowing Him more.
At YWAM Asheville’s Discipleship Training School, students learn how to incorporate worship in their daily lives, starting out the morning with quiet times to meditate on Scripture and prayer. They participate in lectures for three months, growing deeper in their knowledge of who God is and in their identity in Christ, and they learn to serve God and others through community responsibilities and local and international ministry. DTS is a time for students to not only learn how to express themselves in corporate worship but also for them to learn and practice living every moment of their personal lives as an act of worship. YWAM Asheville’s Discipleship Training School is an incredible opportunity for young adults to learn more about who this God is that we worship and serve and how to express a true heart of worship, from your prayer closet to the nations. After DTS, students either continue in YWAM or other missional organizations, serving God in that way, or they take what they’ve learned and serve him in a university or in the corporate world. Worship is not just a song. It’s not a place. It’s not a Sunday service. Worship is a lifestyle.