Living Worship: Infusing God’s Presence into Everyday Activities
February 6, 2024
Katherine Schultz
Deepening Your Relationship with God in Everyday Activities
In everyday activities it’s important to understand that God is still involved in our lives. He wants us to use the daily actions of our lives as acts of worship. That includes things that don’t specifically seem like worship. Colossians 3:23 says. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” And 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Brother Lawrence (1614–1691) said, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”
We want to find God and the ordinary things of life. Washing dishes. Listening to music. Doing homework.Relaxing with friends. Everything that we do should be an expression of our joyful love for God. And we can express our things to him and each of those things as well. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Transforming Daily Tasks into Acts of Worship
Actions that honor God include all kinds of activities. John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all means you can, and all the ways you can, and all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” Even the most routine activities can become opportunities for worship. It has much to do with our mindset. If we dedicate our task to the Lord, it could become an act of worship. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
When we enter into our daily activities with an expectation that they are part of our worship to God, they become in themselves acts of worship. And by worshiping through all those daily activities, we can grow closer to God, because we keep him in mind throughout the day, meditating on his word, and thinking of him.
The Spiritual Aspect of Work
Missionary David Livingstone saies, “All that I am, I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book.” Everything that we do, including our work is part of our spiritual development. Whether we are lazy or persistent, whether we are delighted or depressed, our work is such an intimate part of who we are, that there is no way to disconnect it from our spiritual formation. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, “And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” And according to Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
So our daily work can also be a form of worship. But so can our play.
Leisure Time: A Space for Reflective Worship
Our leisure time, our time away from work, is also an opportunity for worship, and can reflect our relationship to Jesus just as much as our work. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” And Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
The things we spend our energies on outside of work are also contributing to our development as followers of Jesus. And our hobbies, home life, and entertainment activities can be another place to invest our time in worship of our God.
Deepening the Relationship with God Through Everyday Worship
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 reminds us that everything we do should be intimately integrated into our daily lives: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” If you have figured out how to do something without talking, sitting, walking, lying down, or getting up, then you can do that thing aside from God’s word. Otherwise, it’s part of what you are doing, and you should be doing it with that in mind.
South African writer, teacher and Christian pastor Andrew Murray (1828-1917), said, “May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God’s presence.” I want to say with the Psalmist, “Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:2). Every activity, every moment, is an opportunity to deepen my relationship with God.
Now What?
We are convinced of the immediate relevance of developing a 3-dimensional and biblical worldview in students so that they have a firm foundation of beliefs that they live out in their daily behavior as they continue with an attitude that orients their heart toward the Lord Jesus Christ throughout their lives.
- What Is the 3-D Worldview Survey?
- Take the 3-D Worldview for yourself
And if you haven’t yet used the 3-D Worldview Survey with your class, check out the pdf below for some questions to get you started.
#biblicalworldview #3dworldview #everythingisworship
