Why Worship is Better in Community (Psalm 34 Devotional)
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” – Psalm 34:8
Have you ever been with someone in a restaurant when they taste something wonderful? Suddenly they get one of "those" looks - like they just entered heaven. Often, they’ll say “You just HAVE to taste this!”, pointing a fork full of food in your face.
I remember seeing my 3-year-old son's blissful face when he was eating a sucker once. When I sat down next to him, he took the sucker out of his mouth, said with big eyes, “Daddy, taste this!” and popped it, dripping wet, into my mouth.
He was experiencing something wonderful and needed someone else to taste what he was tasting. There are many things in our lives that seem more complete when we share them. The winning touchdown, a perfect sunset, a delicious meal, or a funny joke. We want to share those experiences with others. They somehow seem more complete in the company of other people.
Worship is like that. Worship seems to elevate when there are others around to experience it with us. It’s as if God wired us to experience certain things more deeply in community.
Those things themselves are not lessened when we experience them alone. The meal can still be exquisite, the game exciting, and the sunset just as beautiful. But it seems to elevate our experience if we’re enjoying it with others. A great comedy movie is all the funnier when we hear the laughter of friends around us, and a great concert is made all the better when the whole crowd starts singing along with their favorite songs.
In the same way, as we experience the goodness of God in a worship service, our experience with God often goes deeper. God is still God, the music is still the same, but our experience of Him seems to be deeper and richer when we step into His presence alongside those around us.
And, like the child with a sucker, we begin to desire to reach to others and say in essence, “You have got to taste this!”
Questions for Thought:
What was an experience you’ve had that was better because you shared it with someone?
What was an experience you had alone that would have been even better if you shared it with someone?
Have you ever experienced God in a way that it makes you want to reach out to someone and invite them in?
