Are You Preparing for Your Perpetual Praise?

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
  And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
  And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

How Great Thou Art
By: Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940)

Listen to this trumpet version as you read.  Subscribers and Free Members please be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

We close out this final stanza with some thoughtful reflection on our response at Christ’s return.  Philippians 2:10-11 tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but what great joy is ours to choose to worship Him now.  Even still, take some time today to ponder what those moments will be like, and how you will respond. Let’s think about this.

I Shall Bow

Having acknowledged Christ’s return, the text now turns to our response.  This is a Biblical pattern, in that God always initiates and gives us the opportunity to respond.  Whether in creation, redemption, or now here in the consummation, God does something to which we react.  I like to define worship as sincere responses to God’s self-revelations.

There are two very distinct responses portrayed.  The physical and spiritual.  We will deal with the physical first, as the text does, though I would contend it tends to be the latter of the two and an outward expression of an inward reality.

The worshipper takes a posture to demonstrate they are aligning themselves under the greatness of God.  Have you ever bowed down in the presence of God?  Maybe it was in a service, or maybe you were alone with Him and you simply decided to take a knee to demonstrate your surrender to His authority.   If you have never done that, why not?  Let’s change that right now.  Kneel down before the One who is coming back one day.

Jesus, I kneel before you as an outward expression of the inward reality that I desire to submit my will and my way to you today, as surely as I will on that coming day.  I want this to be true in every way, every day, so even when I am standing up and walking around my heart sustains a humble adoration.  Help me please.

In Humble Adoration

The physical is but a representation of what has transpired in the spiritual.  This posture, one of deep love and respect, begins in the heart, which Scripture teaches is the seat of our intellect, emotions and will.  Scriptures like this one.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, Hebrews 12:28 ESV

When Christ returns He will establish that unshakable kingdom, and though we are grateful now, our current gratitude indubitably pales in comparison to our future gratitude.  Likewise our current worship pales in comparison to our future worship, when we will be in the very presence of our Lord.

We will not feign humble adoration, but enter into it fully.  Our reverence and awe will consume us, burning away all of our former lessor pursuits and revealing hearts ablaze for His glory.  What a day that will be!  We rehearse for it every time we worship, but our performance of it then will be truly inspired!!

Ask Jesus to help you prepare for those moments of humble adoration by empowering you to humble yourself now.   Ask Him to give you a heart to worship Him, one filled with gratitude for all He has done, and the inheritance that affords.  Adore Him right now.

And Then Proclaim

Then.  The End of Time.  The beginning of eternity.

Revelation paints an incredible picture of what that end of days worship will be like.  Angels and elders, saints and living creatures, fully engaged in declaring with due emphasis the greatness of our God.  We will think more about His greatness next week, so I want to focus here on our part of the proclaiming that will take place.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Psalm 29:2 ESV

Though the Psalmists would have had the structure of the Tabernacle or the glory of the Temple to inspire their praise in their day those were mere shadows of what will inform our praise on that Day.  Still they instruct us as to what we should do, attribute the glory that is due the name of God, and render Him the honor that is due no other.  And render we shall.  We will be overwhelmed by the spender of His holiness.

That was and will be then, but this is now.  I hope you are not waiting until then to fully engage in the proclamation of His greatness.  Sure, you will be more equipped and more inspired to offer it then, but don’t let your current capacity hinder you.  He is just as great today as He will be then.  Determine to proclaim here and now, “How great You are!”

What tools are at your disposal?  Maybe you want to just shout it out, or sing it loud.  Maybe you want to grab a guitar or sit at a piano.  Maybe you want to write a poem or a note.  Maybe you want to sit in silence or call someone.  Use whatever you have right now to rehearse for that final, eternal performance!

Worshipful Thinking!

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Below is content always available to Subscribers, and sometimes to Free Members.  Want to learn more about accessing all the additional material in the Subscriber Content Library, click here.  Or check out some other samples at our Free Member Content Library.  We have lots of tools and lots of options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today!!

Subscribers and Free Members enjoy this podcast!  Everyone else the transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.

Podcast 10.4 Transcript

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

The day is coming when Christ returns.  Can you imagine it? The trumpet resounds and the Lord descends with archangel announcing it all.  Are you longing for it? Ask God to stir your heart to long for it even as you echo the prayer, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”

  And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

What a comfort that when this happens we have a place.  Our Lord will call us to join Him in the air. Are you ready to fly?  I can hardly fathom how overwhelming this will be. He returns and then calls us to HImself, where we will spend eternity.  Thank Him for giving us this hope.

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,

Hebrews 12:28 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

Bowing in humble adoration, with reverence and awe, we will express our gratitude to Christ for the inheritance that is ours.  A kingdom that cannot be shaken. Unlike the kingdoms of this world, this one is eternal, and we get to live in it. Worship Him now, and forever!  

  And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Psalm 29:2 ESV

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Oh how we will praise Him on that day!  It will be worship in His glorious holy presence.  As we look forward to and long for those moments of praise, determine to praise Him even while you wait.  He is just as worthy now so instruct your soul to sing of His greatness today.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
  And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
  And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.