Return To The Word Of God

True worship is not according to our preferences but to God’s Word. #daybydaylw Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Not only must there be an increasing awareness of the wonder of God, the holiness of God, but there must also be a return to the word of God. What is it that put Uzzah in this position to begin with? It was a neglect of God’s instructions concerning the transportation of the ark. We read in 2 Samuel 6 of the ark initially being transported on a new cart. There was never a provision given by God that the ark should or could be carried by an ox cart, whether old or new. Where did that idea come from? It came from the Philistines, best I can tell. In 1 Samuel 5, when the Philistines returned the ark to the Israelites, the text tells us that they carried it on a new cart. The Israelites, the ones whom God had revealed himself and give them his word, were taking their worship cues from the world! But later in the story, when David goes to Obed-Edom to retrieve the ark again, we read that the ark is being carried. We need only to look into 1 Chronicles 15 to see that David had made some adjustments to his plan. The ark is carried by the right people, in the right way, according to God’s previous word. What does all of this mean? It means that worship is not according to your preferences but according to God’s word! And remember what we said about worship—it is the re-ordering of the entirety of your life around the person of God. So we are not just talking about what you do in your church, although it does include that, but we are talking about the entirety of your life. The entirety of your life is to be lived according to the design and purposes of God. Worship is not an event, it is a way of life. True worship and following of God means there is a growing submission to God’s word, and God’s design for life, for your dating life, for your college life, for your marriage, for your money, for your raising of children, for your job. There is not one part of life that God has said, “Go ahead. Freelance that baby.” No. There is a design to every aspect, and worship is when we trustingly come under God’s word to obey it.