Worship is to reverently honor and adore someone or something. I myself worship Jesus. Sometimes I feel like I forget what that means, though. I get caught up in raising my hands and closing my eyes. I understand that’s not a “proper Christian answer,” but I’m just being real. Worship is a big deal, so I want to reflect on the reasons I worship.

I have been redeemed.

The price of sin is eternity in a fiery hell. There is no light, there is no hope, and there is no end. I was born a sinner, so naturally that’s the eternity I earned when I came into this world. Praise God that’s not the eternity I’m leaving with. Jesus paid the price of sin for me when He died on the cross, but I had to accept it. So He then saw me in a pit of sin, living in a world that was all about me. He revealed His love, His hope, and His freedom to me. Now all because of Jesus, I have been redeemed.

I have hope.

This world has no hope. There’s evil everywhere. People are cruel. Life is hard. If I lived in this world only having what the world has to offer, I would be a hopeless soul. There’s just nothing to it. Money, success, popularity, possessions, it’s all great, but it all goes away at some point. Then what? Where would I stand if I went bankrupt, lost my job and flunked out of school, lost all my friends or was robbed? I’d be lonely and afraid. Instead, my hope is in Christ alone. I trust that He will work things out for my good, because He loves me and I love Him. I’ve seen it time and time again in my life. The world has robbed me of my belongings, but my Jesus satisfies me with His love and care.

He has blessed me.

I have family, the ones the Lord gave me when I was born and the ones who have come along the way. I have a God-fearing man that I get to do life with. I have friends who bring me support, encouragement, and joy. I have a church where I can worship freely. I have a school that allows me to learn to do what I love. I’m healthy. I’m fortunate. I’m blessed. No matter what my story becomes in the rest of my life, I am still blessed. Life can look a lot of different ways, but it’s always the life the Lord has chosen for me. In all things, I am blessed.

This is not my home.

And praise God it isn’t. I am blessed and thankful, but my biggest blessing is knowing this world is not my home. I’m supposed to be uncomfortable here. I’m supposed to suffer some on this earth. I’m supposed to go through trials and tribulations because of Who I serve. It’s because this is not my home. I find joy in not fitting in or standing out, because I don’t belong here. Here is evil. Here is harm and hurt. But I have a home waiting for me on the other side of eternity, and I lift my hands in praise because in that I find hope.

Worship looks a lot of different ways. Personally, I love raising my hands and singing to my Jesus. I just wanted to stop and remind myself of the reasons that I do. Jesus is so worthy of our worship, but when we forget why we’re worshiping, it isn’t worship at all. Thank you Jesus for reminding me why you’ve called me to worship, and why I love it so much.