Around 3,000 years ago, we find King David losing himself in worship and exaltation of God. Second Samuel 6 tells us about the Ark of God’s covenant being carried into the Israelite capital city of Jerusalem. This event caused King David to get excited and dance like a madman. David’s wife, Michal, despised him for this outgoing display of devotion. Michal accused David of being “undignified.” Hearing his wife criticize him, David said, “I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” What catches my attention is the context of David’s celebration. David was not just one person in the crowd as the Ark was carried into Jerusalem; he was the king. Here was a man of great power, prestige, and stature. Did he not have an image to protect? Evidently not.
David was a man who loved God with all his heart. David’s list of “essentials” was a short one. Power was not what David craved. Acclaim, popularity, and public adoration were not high on David’s bucket list. First and foremost in David’s heart was a desire to worship and honor God. The Scriptures show us that King David was not perfect. He had his flaws and made many mistakes, but David was quick to repent or realize a mistake because God was his passion.
The question at hand today is: How do we develop such a passion? How can we lose ourselves in an effort to follow God? I believe that part of the answer to this perplexing question is worship. David danced before God’s Ark, and he lost himself in worshipping God. The fire that David allowed to burn in his heart blazed so strongly that all inhibitions, pride, and distractions were melted away. True worship has no room for distractions and diversions. True worship always forgets self and focuses on God.
If the truth is told, we all worship something. The problem is that we are not always focused on worshipping God. The Bible is clear in saying that the worship of anything (or anyone) other than God is idolatry. It is interesting that the ancients had a unique word that we translate into the English word "worship." This ancient Greek word meant “to kiss toward." In ancient societies, one would kneel and kiss the hand of the king. This was worship. My question is: Who or what are we kissing toward? Where are our deepest affections directed? When was the last time we lost ourselves in the worship of God? Oftentimes, Christians can find themselves in spiritual dry patches. We might say that a church service was boring or lacking. Perhaps the remedy to such happenings is to rekindle our fire for God. It is not the preacher’s job to ignite your faith. A preacher’s job is to guide and feed your faith, but the igniting of your faith is an issue between you and God. Take it from someone who has preached more sermons than he can count - your worship, your passion, your walk with God is not something that anyone else can do or initiate for you. The time will come when my life on this earth is done. My desire is that my worship, my devotion, my passion for God will be seen as relentless, not reserved. Keep looking up!