Why Worship Is Critical

According to Psalm 95, a man named Asap was tempted to stop meeting with the family of God for times of worship. When he did so, his life changed. He became envious of the arrogant. His perception about life became distorted and it began to eat at him from the inside out.

He saw what the world was enjoying and he decided he wanted it for himself. His attention was diverted to what others had that he didn’t, and he was distracted from what God had for him instead.

Just before he gave up on God totally, Asap gave worship one more try, according to the Psalm. And once he entered the sanctuary, God changed his perception. God showed Asap that while he had been away from worship, his view of life had become limited. In other words, all that Asap saw was not all that there was to see. And during worship he realized he had become blind to his envy.

It reminded me of an experience I had several years ago living in a D.C. suburb. It was winter and the roads were a bit icy. I was driving slowly because the other cars were skidding. Alongside of me comes this guy leaned back and moving fast in his car. He was just cruising like he did not have a care in the world.

I looked at him and said, “He did not just pass me!” So I picked up some speed too.

I was thinking, “If he can do it, I can do it too. Besides,” I thought “I am a Christian, God will protect me”.

Two minutes later in the ditch. . . I came to the realization that it is not good for me to base my life on someone else’s standard.

But not only that, I got to see “therein.” Because ½ mile up the street, the driver, who was looking so good before, after he passed me did a three-sixty and hit another car.

Now if you had asked me when he passed if the guy was doing well, I would have said, “Oh yeah, and I sure would like to be like him.”

But God showed me later his “therein.” And when I saw his therein, I said, “Thank you!”

Asap learned you can not live life based on what you see in the present, you have to live life with a long term view. Worship is what cultivates and maintains that perspective.

Worship prevents envy, jealousy, and pride because it helps us keep our perspective. When we worship we are reminded that everything we see is not all that there is.