What comes to mind when you first think of worship? For me, it’s music consisting of a modern contemporary style band on Thursday nights on my college campus. Or the Brandon Lake songs that seem to overtake the congregation on Sunday morning corporate worship services. Or even the times I find myself driving down the rainy Washington highways belting out the lyrics to Josiah Queen or Chris Renzema as I drive home from work. For me, my immediate association with worship is music. But worship doesn’t have to be purely music-driven. It’s much simpler than we think.
During the spring semester of my senior year of college at Azusa Pacific University, I read Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren as part of the GAP years program. This book opened my eyes to so many things regarding the way I go about my day-to-day walk with Christ. The book's first chapter covers what it looks like to wake up each morning to realize that we are already dearly beloved by Christ before we even get out of bed. It serves as a reminder that any and every task we do flows from God and His unending love for us.
“There is no task too small or too routine to reflect God’s glory and worth.” As I flipped through this book again recently, I found this quote highlighted. I immediately thought to myself, that’s the root of worship… honoring God for His glory and worth. Each chapter of this book is marked by a mundane daily activity– brushing teeth, making the bed, losing keys, sitting in traffic– and dives into different liturgical practices. I find myself thinking about these practices and their role in my mundane activities almost every day. As I get up in the morning and brush my teeth, I’m worshiping God by caring for the body He has graciously given me. While I’m at work making coffee, I’m worshiping God by loving and caring for His sons and daughters in my hometown. When I go for a run or go to the gym, I’m worshiping God by utilizing the gift of movement and strength that flows from Him. Everything, no matter how mundane it seems, is worship if it’s done to honor and glorify God. How cool is that?!