When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:37-40

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

Devotion

I find these verses incredibly fascinating. It seems to imply that creation itself is imbued with the desire and inclination to worship the Creator. Worship seems like an activity reserved only for people, and particularly religious people, but these verses seem to imply that the desire and ability to worship is woven into the very fabric of the universe. When we worship our Creator, we are stepping into a unification with even the most mundane of physical objects like rocks and trees.

But what is worship? In my reading of Scripture, worship is ascribing worth to some person, idea, or object. It is a reaction to an attribute or action that communicates importance, value, and admiration. I believe at a fundamental level worship is a reaction to the love of God. Before time began, our triune God — God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and God the Son — lived in a perfect relationship of love. I believe this love is the bedrock of our God’s desire to create. He desires to share his love with a created universe, and in particular, beings that are made in his image.

So in a way, God’s love tells us what we are and what we are made for. In a word, it is worship which brings us back to worship being a communication of importance, value, and admiration. Ascribing ultimate value to the love of God means that we, by the Spirit’s power, walk daily in that same love that called into being the universe. You see, I believe that by worshiping our Creator, we are better able to live in the peace, unity, and holiness God desires for his people because we are valuing what he values, namely love.

We, Crossings Venue Worship, recently wrote a song based on these passages of Scripture. The song is called “What I Am”. I want to share a few lines with you here.

I hear the rocks cry out to you
God our maker
Even the rocks cry and out say
You are Holy

I hear the trees, they clap their hands
Love unbounded
Even the trees join in the song
You are worthy

I fix my gaze
I will behold you
I fix my gaze 
I will behold you

All my life
Comes in focus
Hallelujah
Your love tells me what I am

Made to wonder
Made to worship
Hallelujah
Your love tells me what I am

Even before the heights and depths
Love was present
When there was nothing else at all
Love was holy

Glorious light shines three in one
Love perfected
Within the Father, Spirit, Son
Overflowing

I hope these lyrics inspire you to see worship as an anchor point to our lives, a full life act that helps us engage in a fundamental part of our existence. It is so much more than merely singing. It is a way of aligning ourselves to our purpose, the purpose of creation and the incredible life-giving love that is found in our triune God. 

PRAYER

Father, thank you for creating us and giving us a share in the love that is perfected between you, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the Son. Thank you for telling us what we are. Thank you for giving us the choir of nature that is joining in with us in worship of you. Please let us fully grasp how much you love us. Amen

Stephen Collins
Director, Music Production

Stephen Collins is the Director of Music Production. He enjoys leading the Crossings Venue Worship songwriting and music production teams.

Resources

For further resources, please check out our YouTube profile and stay tuned for the future release of “What I Am”, the song referenced in this devotional.

Read More Devotions

Explore other devotions like this one any time at crossings.church/devotions.