I memorized the first half of Mary’s Magnificat on accident when I was in college. I was in the midst of my short-lived song-writing phase and read the portion in Luke 1 where Mary meets with her cousin Elizabeth. It’s written in verse, and is sometimes called Mary’s Song. Since I obviously didn’t know the tune, I made one up myself and to this day, I can’t read that portion of Luke without hearing the tune in my head.
It isn’t a very good tune, but it doesn’t matter because music helps the words stick. And these words of Mary’s? These words represent one of my favorite images of worship in the Bible.
Living as a good girl, I was always my own point of reference. I was the initiator. I was responsible for action, service, measuring up. If I wrote a book about being a Christian when I was 22, I would have started with chapter 13 – Worship and Service. I thought these were the most important things. Everything started with me. That’s why I was so proud of myself when things went well and so devastated when they didn’t. Because I was my own point of reference.
Mary is the opposite of a good girl. God split her life wide open. If she had been living as her own point of reference, the angel’s appearance would have sent her into a tailspin. But it didn’t. It set her legs to walking and her soul on fire. The Magnificat was her simple, heart-felt response. She responded to the truth that was already in her because God came down.
We are all brilliant, aren’t we? We are big, we are all suns with rotating earths and planets and star-stuff.
And also, the world is flat. And Al Gore invented the internet.
What a sigh of relief to know, to really know that I am not the center of the universe. To know that every breath, decision, meal, step, and turn is worship if I am doing it with knowledge that He holds all things together. When I forget that truth, when I step back into the center spoke of the wheel? That is when my breathing gets shallow, my head starts to ache, my hands tremble ever so slightly. We are not created to be the center.
group discussion
Chapter 13 highlights the truth that we are a whole people. We cannot diagram our lives into segments, not really. Worship covers the circle, full. Do you struggle with the concept of worship in everything? In what ways are you beginning to see your living as worship?
In Christ, our safety has already been decided. By faith, we believe it to be true. In that case, our greatest enemy is not losing our salvation, trying to become worthy of love, or disappointing God. Our greatest enemy is forgetfulness – forgetting what we already have in Christ. Forgetting that we have been placed into safety because of him. In Chapter 14 we talk about setting our minds on truth. What does this practically look like for you?
book club information
- We only have two weeks left, but if you are just now seeing these book club posts, here is where you can get a copy of a book (Amazon, B&N, LifeWay, Family Christian).
- If you have blog, consider writing your own post and hosting discussion with your readers. Link up in the linky below directly to the post you’ve written about this weeks reading, not just to your main blog. We want to make it easy to find your thoughts.
Two Weeks Left:
July 19 :: Chapters 15 – 16
July 26 :: Chapters 17 – 18**Evening Event on August 2nd:: If you are local-ish, we are planning an evening event in Greensboro, North Carolina at the end of our study. If your are close enough to make it live and in person, we’ll be meeting at Westover Church at 7pm on Thursday, August 2nd.
I have struggled with dividing my life into categories, but as I am intentionally being thankful for so many little things each day that God brings my way, He is gently showing me Himself everywhere.
I started using spiral notecard notebooks in about 2000, and I write down anything that I read, especially verses, each day to be able to flip through. I started doing that in one of Beth Moore’s Bible studies, and it has stuck with me. I do date them, as just seeing the dates I can rememeber what was going on in my life and it is so interesting to see what God was saying in each different season.
I love your writing Emily!
My biggest struggle is living as worship in the secular work place. It is sometimes so hard to find meaning in what I do, securlarly speaking anyway. I sit and wish that I could not work in the secular world and go off and do glorious things for God, and in the mean time forget that as long as I am doing everything I do for Him, that in and of itself is worshipping him and is more pleasing to Him than anything I could be doing through my own will and vision.
This topic and these words were exactly what I needed to be reminded of this morning. Thank you.
Ashley G´s last [type] ..When your brain won’t work….
That little 3 letter word undid me. “Let”. I’m still not comfortable with it. I’m a doing words kinda girl. But “Let”. I am still learning that worship is about the “Let”. And the truth is, because I’ so busy doing, letting is left on the floor.
I guess there is a reason all good worship starts there – low to the ground.
Stacey´s last [type] ..You can take the girl out of Indiana, but…
I have spent the past year trying to figure out how to “be”. I really felt God calling me to say no to a lot for a season. I was prepared for how hard it would be for me to say no, but not prepared for the resistance I would receive from others! I find that others are more comfortable with my life being compartmentalized as well and almost demand I define areas of my life, like service. Then I find myself feeling the pressure and thinking I am not adequate if I cannot clearly and neatly compartmentalize and define my service. That is twisted and really counter to living directed by the Holy Spirit.
By the grace of God, I am beginning to see my living as worship. One of my friends shared with me a beautiful metaphor on the topic of worship being more than a song. She volunteered with Compassion International at a Christian concert to hand out the sponsorship cards to the crowd. She said the praise and worship going on at the concert was amazing!
Then, she walked through the huge crowds looking for willing people to take a sponsorship card for an orphan. All of the sudden, raised arms slowly lowered. Eyes darted away. She got a glimpse into how God feels when He calls us to be His Hands and Feet, but we turn away. We ignore.
(And that is why setting our minds on truth is so important-it allows ourselves to NOT be deaf to the cries of the poor and vulnerable).
Such encouraging words! This post brought to mind one of my favorite songs Be My Everything by Tim Hughes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOY-eHUsHdM
Beautiful! adding it to my playlist…
Karen´s last [type] ..Grace for the Good Girl: Week 6
What a relief to know that I am not the center of the universe! I love what you wrote, Emily, about the end of pie charts and how worship covers the full circle.
This weekend, I had to make a decision about a serious health issue the Lord has allowed in my life this year and none of the options for treatment are exactly safe. But as I remember my Creator and Sustainer and know that he is my safety, I worship.
It is a huge burden as one doctor after another tells me it’s up to me to decide. That burden is lighter as I worship and remember that I can trust the Lord with everything that concerns me. I remember that in the end it isn’t really all up to me and that is a relief. I pray, research, consult, and because of his grace I can move forward resting in him.
And what a difference it makes when I am setting my mind on the Word!
I practice setting my mind on truth throughout the day by writing a verse on my chalkboard in my kitchen (Psalm 147:5 this week), talking with friends about what we’re studying/learning and with music. I have a few worship songs and hymns with rich theology and Biblical lyrics on my ipod and that has gotten me through many nights and times when all I can do is listen and I need to interrupt & replace my anxious thoughts with the truth.
Thank you, again, to all of you who are contributing here!
Karen´s last [type] ..Grace for the Good Girl: Week 6