Pathways to Praise
Who wants to be known as the woman at the well? What if someone started referring to you by where you tend to spend time. You know, the girl at the grocery store… the lady at the ladder … the woman by the washrooms … that tells us nothing about who you are and, who you are becoming is the most important thing about you.
We determine what is most important by establishing our priority.
While we all of a long host of tasks, hopes, people, numbers and responsibilities that swarm our minds when we talk about priorities, you may be surprised by the simplicity of God’s priority for you.
God’s priorities for your life: to grow inside of you the capacity to enjoy Christ.
This is actually your primary purpose. He says, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Gal 5:14
This is your purpose. To love.
Purpose is: “The aim or goal of a person; what a person is trying to do, become, etc.
God is love.
We are becoming more and more like God.
We are becoming love.
This is how the fruit of the Spirit grows … love, joy, peace…
How does this happen?
The woman at the well wanted to be more than the woman at the well. She didn’t want to praise because of her current circumstances. (In fact, her current situation wasn’t at all praise-worthy.) Instead she craved to praise from her core.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more.” – Psalm 16:11
Christian apologist John Piper says, “We have full joy when it rises to the heights of overflowing gladness in song or other forms of exuberance.”
The woman at the well learned to raise praise from her core. She did this by shifting her focus from worshipping in the right position to worshipping with the right heart. Jesus said, “A time is coming and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the worshipers the Father seeks.” – John 4:23. She stopped trying to be “the right kind of worshipper” and allowed Jesus to be “the right object of worship”.
She became the woman who worships well.
John Piper also writes, “Our joy in God is only full when we know we have arrived at the end of our quest for satisfaction.”
The woman at the well was finally satisfied at her core. She experienced this simply by spending time recognizing who Jesus is. Jesus said, “I, the one speaking to you – am [The Messiah]” – John 4:26.
She may have begun the story as “the woman at the well”, but she finishes as a woman who worships well. And her heart-worship transforms an entire community. David Tripp rightly asserts, “There is a significant difference between amazement and faith. God doesn’t just want to blow your mind; he wants to rule your heart.” He goes on to say, “God will not leave us in a state of amazement. He works by grace to craft us into people of settled, hopeful, courage, active, celebratory, God-glorifying faith. He will settle for nothing less. He is not satisfied with the wonder of our minds. You can’t work that faith up in yourself. It is a gift of His grace. The cross makes that gift available to you right here, right now.” – Paul David Tripp
PS – If you would like to live more authentically from the core of who you are, consider working through the HER Influence study! This study has been compiled by pastors, life coaches and psychologists to help Christian women live fulfilling lives from the core of who they are!
To take a look at the study, click here!
