Worship: Is It Emotion or an Encounter?

When Worship Stops at the Surface

Consider a worship leader who ended a song and reached for his phone as the sermon began. He had just completed singing, “I will surrender all to you: my time, my money, my focus, and my attention,” but his own emphasis had already shifted. His heart had already moved on from what his hands said.

Many people sing songs with intense emotions and lyrics that pull people to tears, but they do not follow through on what they say. The exterior appearance takes precedence over interior experiences that may modify the external look.

Many people assume the searing tears and rolling on the floor were real encounters; however, this is not the truth. Because the experience we claim the person had is not obvious or obviously visible in their lives.

What Worship Actually Means

We’ve heard multiple times that praise extends beyond songs, lifting your hands in church, and the various ways we display it. Worship is a way of life that should be approached accordingly. Worship does not begin and end on Sundays in church; it is a way of life.

Jesus was reminding the Samaritan woman that worship is not about the location or the structure but about how you live your life and honor and adore God in your daily activities, in truth and spirit. God confronts genuine worshippers through their everyday acts, words, attitudes, and interactions with others and God. All of this together creates actual encounters.

And at the heart of it all is faith: faith in God’s ability to work in and through you. That is what sincere worship represents.

The Pattern of True Worship

Despite this, many believers continue to leave worship without encountering God.

Apostle Joshua Selman, a notable Nigerian gospel minister, explained why most believers do not encounter God despite hours of devotion.

He claimed that the proper method for experiencing God is this:

Heart. Words. Life. Service.

Reversing this formula will not reveal God’s glory.

What a Believer Misses

A believer misses a lot when authentic worship is not pursued, and emotion takes precedence over encounter with God.

Consider King Saul. Following his disobedience, he continued to worship God, but he never felt God’s presence again. And it showed in his life. He lost his joy, tranquility, and clarity. He could no longer hear or grasp God’s plan for him.

A believer living without a true encounter lives the same way. Because in the presence of God, there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Without a genuine encounter, that joy is missing. So are the calm, clarity, and full revelation of who God is and what God has in store for them.

Such a believer also cannot exercise their authority in Christ. Scripture declares that we are kings and priests unto God (Revelation 1:6, 1 Peter 2:9). However, without a meaningful encounter, a believer lives as a slave rather than as a king or priest.

True worship also creates something else. As we adore God, we become more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our attitude, logic, and thinking start to resemble Christ. That is what distinguishes a believer as an ambassador and citizen of God’s kingdom, rather than of this world.

The Personal Examination

This is a call to true worship.

Not the kind used in songs. Not the Sunday sort. However, the daily type is what God has always been seeking.

Many of us exhibit the Sunday kind of praise expressed in the song, but God is looking for the everyday form, one that honors Him in all facets of life.

God blesses those who truly and actively seek Him in worship, those whose lips and hearts remain intact in the place of worship, and whose everyday lives honor and revere Him. This style of worship has a positive effect on others around them.

God is drawing us into a deeper level of worship and connection with Him in our daily lives.

What would your preference be in a place of worship: emotion or encounter? Would you take the invitation and start worshiping God in this way?