The Fragrance of Worship

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1)

Worship covers us with the fragrance of the King! In fact, the real purpose of soaking in the oil of anointing is to camouflage any smell of the flesh. It is what allows the King to stand to be in the same room with us! Why do I say this? No flesh shall glory in His presence (1 Corinthians 1:29).

Worship is the access code to come before the presence of the king. The Bible says in Psalm 100:1-4, "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." 

Did you see this truth? You don't come before the presence of the king frowning or looking dejected. Neither should you come complaining; you have to come with a joyful heart filled with worship for who He is and what He has done. 

The Bible says in Esther 4:1-2, "When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth." This verse shows that it was an offence to appear before the king sad and gloomy. So, even though Mordecai heard the bad news, he kept his distance from the king's presence. 

Also, in the book of Nehemiah 2:1-2, the Bible says, "And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid." 

Nehemiah was close to the king because his job was to taste the king's wine before handing it over to him. But this day, he was sad, and the king wasn't going to overlook that long face because it wasn't the norm in his presence. The Bible says Nehemiah was afraid if the king were to be in a bad mood, he might order his execution.

So, as Esther was clothed with a fragrance of worship, we should also. Our lives should ooze genuine worship to God. The truth is worship releases its sweetest fragrance to God when offered from the fires of trials and adversity. The sacrifice of praise offered in times of trouble is especially sweet and pleasant to the King of Kings. This is worship from a posture of trust and faith instead of suspicion and doubt. A sacrifice is something that costs us. In other words, we should not limit our worship to the good times but also when things aren't moving in our favour. 

D.A. Carson once said, "Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honour and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so." King David was already anointed king, but things were not going right for him. Life was in reverse gear for him, yet he said, "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together." (Psalm 34:2-3)

So, shake off the shame and fill your heart with worship. Your praise is proof that you trust God to bail you out of that challenge. You have cried enough; it's time to worship.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for your goodness in my life. I worship you for your faithfulness at all times. I praise your holy name because you are good to me. I pray that you help me to be consistent in my worship. I pray that my life shall ooze out the fragrance of worship always. So from today, I lay aside the cloth of mourning, and I take up the garment of praise. In Jesus' name. Amen.