Worship
The dictionary tells us that the word Worship means to show great respect admiration and devotion toward a divine being.
Here is an example of worship from scripture. Note how Jesus responds.
Luke 5:
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus;
and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying,
"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying,
"I am willing; be cleansed."
Immediately the leprosy left him. (New King James Bible)
The Lord Jesus was passing through a city when a man with a dreaded skin disease saw Him. Now, when we see another person it is possible for our eyes to pass over them and move on. But when this diseased man saw Jesus, that's not what happened.
He didn't just glance at Jesus. He looked and recognized Jesus. This tells us that he had seen Jesus before and he had seen Jesus heal others before.
But this look went beyond recognition. This man fixed his gaze on Jesus and he looked into Jesus' eyes with faith and hope.
He knew that Jesus had the power to take away this dreaded disease and make him well again. He hoped that Jesus would heal him, just as he had evidently seen Jesus do for others in the past.
When you and I have a need, we can choose just to glance in Jesus' direction and move on. Or we can fix the eyes of our heart on Jesus with faith and hope, knowing that He has our answer - like this man did.
Next, verse 12 tells us that this man fell on his face in worship.
When we recognise that the Lord Jesus is the One with the answer to our need, we need to approach Him with worship. Sometimes our need takes us over to such an extent that we forget about Jesus and just focus on getting our answer out of Him.
But that wasn't the case with this diseased man.
When he looked at Jesus, he didn't see the walking, talking answer to his need.
He saw a Divine Person.
Evidently, when he had seen Jesus before, he had seen Jesus' power and authority over sickness. But, more than that, this man had been captivated by the Person of the Lord Jesus!
So the man didn't just come and make a demand of Jesus. Instead he came and worshipped Jesus.
He fell on his face before Jesus. His body language said without any words,
"I am not worthy to even be in Your wonderful presence. I understand Who You are! I know You are my Saviour and Redeemer! I know that You are God!"
When we have a need, we must recognise that the Lord Jesus is our wonderful Saviour and Redeemer. We cannot be so wrapped up in our problem that we just see Jesus as our Answer. He must be - first and always - our Lord and our God!
The Psalmist David expressed it this way in Psalm 121:
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills, From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
(New King James Bible)
David was in trouble and instead of concentrating on his problem, he purposely lifted his eyes to the hills, and asked himself,
"Where does my help come from?"
Then he gave himself the answer: "My help is not found inside myself or around me from other people. Therefore, I am looking up, because my help comes from the Lord. And my Lord is not just some puny god. He is the mighty God who made heaven and earth."
Just like the diseased man bowed down in worship, king David lifted his soul in worship.
Both fixed their attention - not on their problem - but on the Lord!
There's a hymn written by Helen Lemmel in 1922 that expresses worship this way:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
today I fix my eyes on Jesus, my Saviour and Redeemer.
Lord Jesus, I desire to look fully into Your wonderful face, and see Your compassion, Your care, Your warmth directed right back at me.
Teach me how to keep looking at You this way all of today, and all the days to come.
Let me be captivated by Who You are.
Let me receive Your love to transform me deep inside.
Thank You for this wonderful privilege, Lord. Amen.
