The Way to Worship

Eze 46:9 But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

Worship is all about God, but a little about us also. When we experience God-centered worship, we do come away spiritually refreshed, renewed and revived. Worship is a wonderfully fulfilling experience. Thank God that He has prescribed this beautiful expression for His glory and our edification.

I see in this verse a couple of important things about worship.

1) That we are all admonished to participate in worship. Ours is not to be a worship-optional relationship with the Lord. Individual and corporate worship is a requirement. The Lord did not say "if the people shall come before the Lord" but "when the people of the land come before the Lord. It is expected that God's people will worship as a natural outflow of their love, obedience and adoration of our Maker and Sustainer.

2) That worship is to be an altering altar experience for us each and every time. The verse tells us that if we enter into worship one way, we are to leave another way. The thing is, when we come into the presence of the Holy, there is no way we can come away the same. I think of Isaiah's encounter in the 6th chapter of his prophecy. It was life changing. I am reminded of Moses at the burning bush which changed him from the most humble man on the planet to a leader of millions. Even the wise men presented their gifts to the Christ child and returned "another way." How can we come into the presence of the Almighty, worship at His feet and come away unfazed?

Again, thank God for the enrichment of worship, the opportunity to adore Him and a chance to go out another way.