Worship In The In-Between

Jan 16

Written By Arika

Lifting my hands and praising God is sometimes the last thing I want to do. It’s hard when energy is fleeting, when I have a hundred things tugging at my attention, when my spirit is bone dry, or when I don’t feel the fullness of presence from the Spirit. Here, it takes all my brain power to focus on God. Yet -

He is still worthy.
He is still deserving.
Always, He is worthy.
Every day, every hour.
He is worthy.

I’m reminding myself as I write it here: we don’t have to wait until church to bring worship to God. In the in-between days, the trained, worshiping heart finds Him.

I am not perfect at worshiping. And I’m trying to remember the last time I worshiped outside of church. I’m not sure that singing while curling my hair quite counts, though I was enjoying His presence while lifting up truth. I remember my focus was definitely divided. This side of heaven I’ll forever be learning what it means to sing joyful songs and to center my heart on Him. Yet, I still feel His pleasure in the worship, that he loves the honest pursuit of my praise-brought offering despite how it sometimes feels unnatural. I find my heart in the true pursuit of worshiping when I recall that it isn’t about the feelings I get, it’s about bringing God His due praise. In His kindness and mercy He can meet me, and stir up inside me a closeness through worship. But worshiping is about God before it is about me.

“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.”‬ ‭-Psalm 63:3‬‬ (ESV)

Let us in the same spirit bring our worship throughout the week. Don’t wait, make it a habit to treasure Jesus regularly.

Psalm 100:4 teaches, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (ESV)

Arika

Arika Pischel resides in Pullman, WA, with her husband Robert, where they are in the process of building their first home. She’s a software engineer, coffee drinker, and national-park adventurer. In her free time you can catch her drinking americanos, consuming all things literature, including fantasy, poetry, and theology, and swimming, biking, and running (yes, cardio!).

She first began believing in Jesus during her sophomore year of college at Washington State University, and has been avidly exploring her Bible ever since. She loves spending time with her church family throughout the week and is passionate about God’s plans for her life. Her favorite things are to share the amazing work Jesus has done in her life and encourage others in their faith.

You can connect with Arika on Instagram here.