How to Worship Even When it Feels Awkward

It may be a massive cliche, but one of my absolute favorite things in life is the sound of people singing together. There's something so moving about a group of believers lifting up a song to heaven, abandoning themselves to give glory to our King. Have you ever been in a worship experience where all of the instruments totally drop out, and the entire room fills up with people passionately singing a chorus or a hymn together? Oof, chills. However, in these times where congregating together is discouraged and church looks far different than what we are used to, we must ask ourselves this: How do I worship God in a rapidly changing world? To answer this question, we must first examine what worship is. Many of us may initially picture a band or lights or songs and while these things are beautiful expressions that fall under the umbrella of worship, there's far more to it than that. Worship at its core is this: a sacrifice of praise. This means that we can worship through the way we conduct ourselves at work or school, in our conversations, in how we serve those around us. Worship happens when we simply give of ourselves to bring Him glory in our every day lives. However, there's still something to be said of when we physically make a sound of praise to Him. Psalm 98 says this: "4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!" Vibrant praise is something that Scripture very specifically asks of us. This is, however, something that's far easier said than done for many of us. This form of worship is much more direct than some of the others. It's loud, it's aggressive, it's passionate, and that may go against our natural tendencies. Quite a few of us come from a place of feeling uncomfortable raising our hands or singing aloud in church, only to have recently found similar discomfort in singing in our own homes to a live stream. (As someone who lives her life in a perpetual state of awkwardness, I get it.) But it's in these moments that we must remind ourselves what worship really is: A sacrifice of praise. Regardless of the circumstances, sometimes worship will feel uncomfortable and that's okay. But that's no reason to be silent. So I encourage you to be bold in your worship, whatever that looks like. Remember that He sees the desire of your heart to give Him glory no matter how uncomfortable you may feel on the outside. In that moment, take the opportunity to remind yourself why we worship. Not because it makes us feel good, or to check off a box, or to join in with the crowd around us. We worship Him simply because He deserves it.