3 Unconventional Ways to Worship God While You Work
You are completely exhausted as you drive home after a long day of living out your calling. You know there are four loads of laundry waiting to be folded. The floors are filthy, and dinner waits to be cooked. You’d give just about anything to lie on the couch in front of the TV instead of diving into the work. The last thing on your mind is construing ways to worship God in the middle of your work.
Perhaps the idea of worshiping while you work feels like a pursuit reserved for women who don’t have full schedules – or kids.
I feel you.
I see you.
I’m standing with you.
But here’s the truth I’m discovering: You are the only one who can control the mental climate of your life.
In every moment, you have a choice. You choose to resign yourself to fatigue, fear, annoyance, or some other negative mindset. Or, you choose to look for the fingerprints of God amid your ordinary moments.
How to Worship God in Your Weariness
This kind of watching for God – glancing vertically while you live horizontally – is worship. Every time you pause in the midst of your daily tasks to look toward Jesus with an open heart, you posture yourself as a worshiper.
A worshipful heart doesn’t need a melody. Worship is simply the adoration of One who is worthy of our praise.
When we worship, the most amazing thing happens. Song of Solomon 4:9 teaches that when we glance toward Jesus, we captivate his heart. Think of the way your first love used to glance at you across a crowded room. Remember the way your heart leaped. My friend, you hold the power to make Jesus’ heart leap in the same way every time you pause to be present to what is happening around you and glance in his direction.
You hold the power to make Jesus' heart leap every time you pause and glance in his direction. #Jesus #SeekingJesus Share on XJesus wants our worship. Pure worship is presenting our bodies to him as holy and living sacrifices.
Imagine the shift of learning to live lives of ongoing worship.
What if washing the car, taking the garbage out, driving to work, and waiting in line at the grocery store became acts of worship instead of acts of drudgery or even complaint?
Worship might include tuning into praise music while you go about your day. However, worship is first a position of the heart. You can worship anywhere by lifting your eyes to God in adoration.
3 Unconventional Ways to Worship God
Here are a few very practical ways to worship God in your everyday moments:
1. Worship God while you cook.
Thank God for the provision of providing the ingredients for your meal. Take your time. Set the ingredients on the counter and admire the array, giving thanks for God’s goodness and provision as you prepare.
Prepare the food slowly. Mix and stir with intention. Pay attention to the aroma and the texture of the food. Think of the farmer who harvested the wheat for your flour or the sugarcane for your sweet baking project. Talk with God as you cook. Allow the act to be mindful – sacramental. Open your heart to allow God to minister to you throughout the process.
2. Turn eating into an act of worshipful expression.
How would your eating patterns be different if eating were always a worshipful act for you? Would you still shove sweets into your mouth compulsively? Would you eat your feelings?
I have asked myself these hard questions over the past few years. I find that when I pay attention to the presence of Jesus with me while I eat, I eat differently. There is no room for compulsive eating, comfort-eating, or escapist-eating when I’m mindful of the Lord’s presence with me.
Before he went to the cross, Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper. Perhaps he chose this very ordinary, essential human activity to be our ongoing reminder of his sacrifice because he wanted us to remember him often. He wanted us to think of him many times throughout our days and weeks. What if we tuned into his presence every time we sat to eat? I believe we would be changed radically.
3. Worship God while you clean your home.
God wants to minister to our hearts throughout all the moments of our days. How often do you think of God while you clean your house? All too often, I find myself grumbling while I clean.
Imagine a life in which worship and cleaning automatically coincide. Imagine that every time you stand at the sink washing dishes, mop the kitchen floor, wipe down the tables, dust the mantles, or vacuum the family room you embrace a short prayer retreat with the Lord.
Feeling weary? Slip to the laundry room to fold T-shirts and encounter the heartbeat of God.
Feeling burned out? Get lost in the act of dishwashing, and let God whisper to your heart over the soap suds.
Need a break from the demands of your family? Strip the beds and turn your heart to worship God while you enjoy the quieter parts of the house.
A Free Devotional to Help You Learn New Ways to Worship God While You Work:
Lastly, I have a gift for you today: My free 21-day devotional Unrushed: Slow Your Pace and Embrace the Fully-Present Life. This is a powerful journey into a life that is more present and worshipful. Click here, and I’ll send this free online devotional to your email inbox!
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