Worship is Never Wasted
Some days I have trouble quieting my mind. I sit in my prayer chair and try to read my Bible and pray, but my mind is filled with the list of phone calls I need to return and tasks I need to cram into my day. I want to focus on God’s Word, but the relentless tug of the urgent pulls me away, trying to convince me I need to get busy and quit wasting time.
Yet worship is never wasted. Matthew 26:6-13 tells the story of a woman who came to Jesus with an expensive jar of perfume—a jar that could have been worth as much as a year’s wages. She lavishly poured it out on Jesus’ head, sparing nothing as she anointed him with an extravagant gift of worship.
The disciples began to complain. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor” (Matthew 26:8-9). Jesus told them to leave her alone. The woman had recognized what the disciples had not: the moment of Jesus’ death and burial was at hand. Through her worship, she had prepared him for what was to come, and Jesus promised her sacrifice would be remembered.
Like the woman, our worship is never wasted. When we lavish our time, our talents, and our resources on Christ, we are only giving him what he truly deserves. It is in those moments of extravagant worship that we best fulfill the purpose for which we were created: bringing glory and honor to the name of Jesus. Urgency is a current tugging at our feet, but worship prepares us for the eternal.
Today, give Jesus the gift of extravagant, unhurried worship. Turn the cell phone off. Put the to-do list away and focus your mind and heart exclusively on him. Then listen to what God has to tell you. Worship aligns our hearts with God’s kingdom purpose, and moments spent pursuing God’s purpose are never wasted.
