I can recall at least a handful of times in my life where God has called me to bow before Him. Looking back now, I deeply regret not acting upon His desire for me. Had I respected Him in this particular call, I would not have lost what He intended to give to me at that moment. I recall having a distinct urge to go to the front of the church at least twice and get on my hands and knees, bowing to the Lord in worship. That feeling overwhelmed me like no other. I disobeyed the call and watched as God used someone else to do what He had called me to do. I knew immediately in my heart that God was showing me what He had for me, but I was scared, felt intimidated and embarrassed. I feared what others would think of me instead of what God wanted to do for and through me. After ignoring the call, I felt like a failure, an imposter of the Lord because I was not living in alignment with my inner and outer self. I lost the connection.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJV
I believe that when we bow before the Lord, we are showing the enemy who our First Love is. The enemy wants to rob us of our inheritance as sons and daughters of the Most High by breaking our unity with God and each other. Life and blessing come when the heaviness of the world is removed. God commands blessing, but the enemy wants to confuse our thought patterns to keep us from bowing in unity to the Lord. The blessing for our lives occurs from bowing. If God has placed it upon our hearts and we choose to conform, we change the course of humanity and things begin to fall into place. Bowing to the Lord brings restoration and reward, making us able to withstand the evil ways of Satan. Weakness, weariness and all the “what ifs” are removed. The enemy is also in the good things of life. Bowing removes the veil of our eyes to see his tactics. He tries to keep us busy in the good things to miss out from the love of the Lord. Bowing gives us new hope, certainty that our lives will be sustained through Him. The blessing and fruit come when we answer the call of God to bow down. Isaiah 58:11 tells us that He will keep us well watered. His life is eternalized in us, when we put Him first. The power of the bow destroys what the devil tries to scheme up. Bowing keeps us committed to the unity of the Lord and helps us take back our inheritance from the garden when God said that man will have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26 NKJV). In worshipping the Lord, we will come back to our First Love. Satan will do anything to keep us from our connection to God. Our flesh comes through our actions and in my case, I was embarrassed to follow the call of the Lord. This is a tactic of Satan. I know now that if I had bowed before the Lord in worshipping Him, I would have shown the enemy that I was taking a stance against him and reclaiming my authority and dominion over him in that moment. I would have shown him “what was up!”
That day, God showed me so much when I denied Him. Not only did the plan of the enemy work, but had I chosen to bow with reverence to the One and Only God, it would have restored and strengthened me, giving me the necessary tools to overcome the wicked ways of the world. I lost a refreshing of the Spirit that day. Bowing to the Lord is not just about giving Him respect. It is a much deeper layer than we can even wrap our minds around. It is about restoring our connection to Him through fully surrendering our lives to Him. Giving of ourselves in total surrender is one of the keys of understanding the kingdom. We make it difficult because we as humans are so distracted with worldly ways. We allow our human mentality to discern what is right and wrong and what will make us look out of place if we choose an unfrequented path. True worship begins when we lay ourselves down for the Lord. It is the missing link God shows us throughout scripture. It comes down to love. Today we worship so many things such as sports teams, concerts, jobs and even our own families. We have lost sight of our true First Love. We have become prodigals. God is waiting to welcome us back with open arms. Fully surrendering in bowing before the Lord is a demonstration of our love for Him. It is a change of heart from the ways of the world to the kingdom of God as sons and daughters. Only then can we receive what He fully has for us. When we die to self and who the world says we are, only then can we begin to operate through a different filter. God always intended for us to work together in union for Him, and we lost that through the sin of the world. We lost our First Love when our eyes opened and we became worldly…when we chose to be in control over our own lives. With that has come much pain and hardship. We have never experienced the true peace that the Lord has to offer; therefore, we are constantly searching and trying to make things right. When we worship God through bowing to Him, we are coming back to the true love that He has for us. God’s love has never changed for us. We have changed. The enemy has placed a smoky mirror in front of us to sway us from our God. He has shown us living, tangible temptations to take God’s place in our lives. God desires us and He allows us to choose each day the path on which we will take our first step.
Psalm 95 is not just a story. There is great life reflection for us in that piece of scripture. Yes, it is a story of disobedience, but it is also a piece of history God revealed to us to keep us from the same hardships as the Israelites. In this passage, God revealed secrets into His kingdom. It is a decree. He has shown us this evidence so that we would search our hearts daily. We cannot enter His rest in disobedience and unbelief. God equips us to be good in our calling, and when we bow to Him in total surrender of ourselves and our ways, we can enter His rest. His rest is paradise—heaven. Bowing before God keeps us from being “stiff-necked” humans and allows us to submit ourselves to Him for greater things. It was never about us. The enemy in this world has made us believe false lies to keep us from obtaining completeness in the Father. When we fail to bow before God, Satan has stopped us from setting ourselves aside to become the vessel, blocking the power and authority for God to work through and restore what He had intended all along.
Bowing to the Lord brings us back into the workings of God. The choice has always been ours. Will we set aside our ways and return from the wilderness to experience God’s full love for us, or will we stay lost in the wilderness like the Israelites in Psalm 95? May God give us a willing heart and may we act in obedience. I deeply regret those times that I ignored God’s call for me to bow before Him. I am thankful for His grace and mercy. I vow to never allow my humanistic ways to get in the way of the call of God. I love You my Father and I pray that I can become all that You have for me. Thank You for never giving up on me.
God cannot work in our lives unless we choose to bow before Him. I believe it looks different for everyone because we have all been fashioned to His liking. The question is…Will we allow the ways of the world to come in between us and our Lord, or will we choose to bow in full surrender to our King of Kings, Lord of Lords—receiving the keys to the kingdom? We are called to bring out of us what God has put into us, for the world, and we cannot do that unless we learn to worship our God through taking the step of obedience to bow before Him. Jesus is our New Covenant, our new promise of hope to come. When we choose to worship our King through bowing, we can begin to bring forth the blessing in our unification to the Lord. What are you pursuing? What has God placed upon your heart today?
How wonderful! You could not have explained this any better. Receiving so much of the spirit through your words! I really needed this today. I love you so very much.
Sincerely,
your mother