There is an audio devotional I like to listen to called Sing, and on a particular morning a couple weeks back, I was struck with a visual they had shared regarding worship: “Worship is a full contact sport.”
What does that mean exactly?
When someone is invested in a sport—whether football, soccer, rugby—they throw everything they are into the game. The goal is to win and you don’t win by sitting on the sidelines. You win by playing, by practicing, by investing your time and energy into it. Your mind is focused. Your body doesn’t just go through the motions, you put your heart and your soul into it.
That’s as far as I will go because that is as far as my knowledge of sports goes. I am not a sports fanatic (although if anyone mentions a game of volleyball, I will absolutely one hundred percent be there!).
Just as an athlete becomes invested in the particular sport they are in, the fans of the sport can also become just as involved. The sidelines are full of fans who cheer, encourage, shout, jeer, jump up and down, and honestly do some crazy things to show how much they care about the team they are rooting for. They throw their hands up and worship their team. They glorify them and lift them up. They don’t miss any homegames if they can help it.
So going back full-circle, worship is a full contact sport. Just as athletes and fans give all of their being into the game that they love, so should be our worship of the One who created our very being. When we worship Jesus, we give Him all that we are. We glorify Him with our tongue, our bodies, our time, and our lives. We lift up our hands and glorify and praise His awesome Name. We don’t worship just to worship—we worship the One who our hearts are fully invested in.
Worship is full contact. We aren’t called to sit on the sidelines and just watch. We aren’t meant to only be fans of Jesus, cheering Him and others on. Jesus invites us into the game. He beckons us into the race that He has set before us. And why?
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
~Hebrews 12:1-3
As believers, we are led from the stands and onto the court. The ones who are on the sidelines are watching us and witnessing what the Lord is doing in us and through us. As such, we are commisioned to invite those in the bleachers to join Jesus’ team. By now you know who we’re playing against—yup, the evil forces of darkness led by no other than Satan himself.
Take heart, we already know how the game ends! As we worship with our lives and our very being, let us be encouraged by these words in 2 Timothy 4: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righeous Judge, will awar to me on the day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (vs. 7-8).”
Our award is not just some metal hanging from our necks that will fade with time. We are awarded the eternal crown of life from God Himself just for participating and giving our very best to Him!
Receive this prayer with me: Jesus, I thank you so much for the race You have set before me. Thank you for inviting me from the stands and onto the courts of your glory. David says in the Psalms that a day in your courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else. How true this is! Help me to live my life glorifying You, praising You, and worshipping You over every other thing that is calling my name. May the worship of my heart be a delight to you and a pleasant aroma. As I live my life worshipping You, I pray that those who don’t know Your Name and those who do know You but yet still remain on the sidelines be drawn to Your goodness and Your love. Give me the courage and the strength to persevere even in the face of adversity. Where there is exhaustion, let there be rest. Where there is chaos, let there be peace. Where there is fear, let there be love. Where there is uncertainty, let there be confidence. Where there is passivity, let there be full contact. I love you Jesus and I give you my heart, my being, and my soul! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
