Grace San Diego

Passion for His Greatness

I was thinking about how difficult it is to see God in all of His glory. I recently shared this thought in the following way, “we have a tendency to bring God down to an understandable finite and therefore fail to worship Him in all his glory.” This is devastating to the heart of man according to Romans 1. Paul teaches that the lower one’s view of God, the greater his risk of deviation from health: emotionally, spiritually, sexually and intellectually. This is a staggering warning to the believer and non-believer alike. What causes deviance? Our theology! Wow, can this be?

I recently spoke at a pastor’s conference where a pastor asked me how he could reach his wife who was in deep depression. She had lost passion for everything. She was lethargic and not able to be present in the moment. As I listened to him speak and share his pain, the word “worship” was the first thing that came to mind. I asked, “Does she worship?” He was confused and didn’t answer so I asked again, “Does she worship?” He said of course we go to church every week and we have great worship. I said, “No, does SHE worship?” He again said nothing.

I proceeded to tell him that I have never met a depressed worshipper of God. People worship best when they are alone with God and truly are in awe of His greatness. I explained that depression other than organic depression is caused by a state of isolation from service, thankfulness and worship.

First, a person who is isolated from others is vulnerable to emotional depression. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” When I speak of being with others I mean serving their needs. I have never seen a servant who truly served with abandonment of self-interest, who was chronically depressed. Second, a thankful person does not have room for depression… I mean real thanksgiving that is pervasive in the heart and continual pursued in the life. The kind of thanksgiving that so captivates the heart that you can’t remember the things you want because you are so grateful for what you have. Third, a worshipper of God has a dynamic that happens to the soul that fulfills the heart’s need. We are created to worship God in all His glory. In scripture we see the devastation that comes to the life of those who fail to worship God properly, Romans 1:21 "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Two things, honor and thanks, lead to a darkened heart, i.e. depression.

On August 10th we will begin a new series on worship called, “Passion for His Greatness.” This will be a four-week study that will help to define your emotional and spiritual health based on a full adoration of who God is and what He has done. We are providing special connection groups to discuss these messages each week. Come to the worship services and plug into the connection groups. If you would like more information about the connection groups please contact: .

May God truly be worshipped in all His glory!