Worship Attitudes: Eagerly Expectant

Have you ever waited expectantly for news from the doctor?  How about an adoption agency?  That's where I am right now, waiting constantly for the phone to ring.  When it does, I jump.

"Hello?"  But instead of the doctor or the adoption agency, it's a business call.  "Oh, hi," I say.

Since we are in the adoption process, people ask all the time, "Any news?"

"No," I respond.  "We're still waiting."  But I don't like waiting.  I'm terrible at it.  I'm simply forced to do it.

Christmas stockingsHowever, waiting can also be a good thing.  My daughter has a Christmas ornament that counts down the minutes, hours and days until Christmas.  I will catch her checking it throughout November and December.  She can't wait for Christmas and that waiting is sweet anticipation.

I think we should have that same sense of expectation for God.  He is a great God who does great things.  The problem is that we miss his work through the Holy Spirit.  We are so self-sufficient that we miss it.  We are not...

Eagerly Expectant.

I didn't realize how much God was at work until I started looking for it.  Think about it.  The Holy Spirit works though our gifts every week.

When someone serves in the tech ministry, they are using the gift of helps.

When we take the offering, we all using the gift of giving.

When someone teaches a class or preaches to the whole church, they are using the gifts of  leadership and teaching.

When we pray for each other, we are exercising the gift of mercy.

These are all examples of God at work through the Holy Spirit.  Author and Worship Pastor, Bob Kauflin, writes,

If we don’t expect [God] to be active, we’ll most likely miss what he’s doing.  We can expect great things from a great God who is dwelling in us and among us.

I miss the Holy Spirit when I don't see our tech teams and expect God to do great things through them.

I miss the Holy Spirit when I don't see God doing great things through our giving.

I miss the Holy Spirit when I don't expect God to work through Pastor Denny using his gifts of leadership and teaching.

I miss the Holy Spirit when I don't see God's mercy in our prayers.

Like expecting a call about a baby or anticipating Christmas, let's look for God's active work.  We can expect greats things from our great God.

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This is the second of three blog posts on heart attitudes connected with worship.  To read the first blog, click here OR to see the video of the final True Worship class presenting all three attitudes and connecting them to the worship of heaven, click here...

Thanks again to Bob Kauflin for his thoughts on worship.  These three attitudes come from from his book, “True Worshipers” which has had a huge impact on our ministry!