What’s on repeat in your mind? How can we cultivate a mindset of worship? I think it begins by asking the question: what’s on your playlist?
Although music comprises a significant part of our worship, I’m not referring to the sequence of songs on our iPod player or phone. I’m talking about the tunes running through our minds. What are the refrains that shuffle to the front of our thoughts again and again? They either inspire us or immobilize us. If we hope to be worshippers of God, our playlists — the thoughts that run through our head — matter.
Jesus addressed people’s thoughts when He was on the earth. He told them not to be consumed with what they would eat or drink, with their bodies, or with what they would wear (Matthew 6). He encouraged them to focus on thoughts and songs of a different sort: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). He directed them to choose a playlist that would lead them to something bigger than themselves and to turn their thoughts to themes that would turn them into worshippers.
So what’s on your playlist?
Are you listening to a steady beat of hopelessness? Are you storing messages that feed your insecurities and undermine your status as a child of God? If we hope to grow in our worship of God we may have to delete some selections that keep us tied more to earth than to heaven. God has some pretty cool songs on his playlist; they reverberate with spirit and truth. These are the thoughts and songs that lead us to worship.
Lord Jesus thank you for offering us a new way to think, a way birthed in truth and saturated by the Holy Spirit. Help us get rid of old songs that block us from a life of true worship. Amen.
Go deeper — examine your thought life and ask God to help you get rid of any thinking that hinders you from worshipping Him with all your heart, mind, and soul.