Several years ago, I traveled to Virginia International Raceway to test a new race car I had never driven before. In a few weeks I would be driving that car in a twelve-hour endurance race, so I needed to learn what it could do and what it needed from me.

Lap after lap, I was coming to grips with the car. It was fast, but we weren’t yet working together. Then it happened.

On one lap, through a long, sweeping turn, everything came together. I hit my braking point perfectly. I turned in at exactly the right moment. The tires gripped.

The balance was just right. For a few glorious seconds, it felt as though the car and I had become one. We weren’t fighting each other anymore. We were working together.

For the next few laps I was in the zone. I wasn’t thinking about lap times, braking points, or whether I was driving the car correctly. There was only the joy of doing what I loved.

Suddenly my thoughts turned to God, and I thanked Him. I was reminded again in that moment that worship is infinitely bigger than what happens at church on Sunday mornings.

Worship—#70 on my list of 70 things every man needs to know—is our response whenever God’s greatness or goodness breaks into our conscious thoughts. Everytime our minds turn toward Him, we have the opportunity to give Him the honor, glory, majesty, praise, and thanks that only He is worthy to receive.

The Apostle Paul slipped a profound statement into what seems like an ordinary discussion about church life: “Everything comes from God.” Everything. And if everything comes from God, then everything has the potential to lead us back to Him.

Think about that; it means worship can happen almost anywhere! You can worship while reading the Bible. You can worship while praying. You can worship while sitting under a sky full of stars. You can worship while driving to work. You can worship while serving a customer with excellence. You can worship while holding your wife’s hand, playing with your children, encouraging a friend, or simply thanking God for another ordinary day. You can worship while working out. You can worship while learning a new race car.

The Bible repeatedly demonstrates that worship takes us to both the highest and lowest places. Sometimes we shout for joy. Other times we’re brought to our knees.

And sometimes we feel the impulse to prostrate ourselves before Him in humility. The Bible is filled with such examples: Abraham fell on his face. Joshua fell on his face. Ezekiel fell on his face. Peter fell at Jesus’ knees. John fell at His feet “as though dead.” The closer these men came to God, the more clearly they saw His majesty and their need.

That’s the paradox of worship. It exalts God while humbling us. It reminds us how small we are, yet how deeply we are loved. Worship doesn’t diminish a man. It puts him in the only place where he can become the man God created him to be.

Because God made us differently, we don’t all worship in exactly the same way. Gordon MacDonald observed that most of us naturally gravitate toward two or three primary ways of worshiping God. He called them the six “leading instincts of the soul”:

1. The aesthetic instinct seeks to be overwhelmed by God’s majesty. These are the men who encounter God most naturally in creation, beauty, art, or moments that fill them with awe.
2. The experiential instinct longs to feel God’s presence. They are drawn to heartfelt praise and those moments when God’s nearness feels especially tangible.
3. The activist instinct worships through service. They feel closest to God when they are serving others, solving problems, and advancing His Kingdom.
4. The contemplative instinct cherishes the quiet inner life. Solitude, silence, reflection, and listening to God are where they most readily experience His presence.
5. The student instinct delights in learning truth about God. They worship by opening the Scriptures, studying theology, and discovering fresh insights into God’s character.
6. The relational instinct finds God most present when gathered with other believers for fellowship, worship, prayer, and mutual encouragement.

How about you? None of these instincts is better than another. They simply reflect the unique way God has wired each of us.

The important question isn’t how you worship. The important question is whether your heart is regularly being drawn toward God.

Jesus worshiped publicly in the synagogue and at the Temple. He worshiped privately by withdrawing to lonely places to pray. He thanked His Father before meals. He delighted in God’s creation, pointing to birds, flowers, vineyards, seeds, and harvests to reveal spiritual truth. Every part of His life reflected a constant awareness of  and gratitude for His Father’s presence.

Then came the wilderness. Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him instead. Jesus responded with words every man should memorize: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

Every day we must respond to the same offer, asking ourselves: Will I worship God, or will I worship something else?

One day I wrote these words in my journal: “Lord, I love to think about You. Thinking first about the question, ‘Who are You?’ leads me into worship. Thinking second about the question, ‘Who am I?’ then leads me into humility, gratitude, dependence, and surrender. But if I think first about, ‘Who am I?’ it leads to confusion, arrogance, or both.”

When I make me the starting point, life quickly become about my plans, my problems, my disappointments, and my ambitions. When we begin with God, everything finds its proper place.

That day at Virginia International Raceway, the race car performed best when it was working in harmony with its driver. The same is true for us. We are most fully alive when every part of our lives is in harmony with the God who created us, and worship brings us back again and again to that place, realigning us.

Worship isn’t something we attend. It’s a way of seeing all of life—recognizing God in everything we do and responding to Him with affection.

Always on your side,

Pat

For Reflection and Discussion

• Heart (Reflect): Describe a time when you experienced the joy and presence of God, and felt the desire to worship Him by giving Him praise, thanks, glory, or some other form of honor.
• Head (Understand): Which of the six worship instincts most naturally draws your heart toward God, and when have you experienced worship outside of a church service?
• Hands (Apply): This week, turn one ordinary moment into an act of worship by pausing to thank, praise, or honor God. Note how it changes your awareness of His presence.