Why Is Worshiping God Together So Beautiful?

Before I was married, I worshiped with a lovely community of believers in Portland, a church planted in the days following World War 2, in which early services were conducted in Norwegian. Some of my friends and colleagues in ministry were second or third generation church members with roots deeply planted in that community and that worship space. One older friend reminisced about scrubbing old mortar off the recycled bricks used in the church’s construction.

I also remember being envious of their rootedness, the sense of belonging they had the good sense to cherish. They had shared history, a common memory bank of big occasions, and a pastoral roll call that stretched back over decades.

In the providence of God, I now have a long-standing church family, too. I worship every Sunday with people who remember dark-haired Michele leading Sunday school opening with a newborn. Unbelievably, my husband and I have reached the age that the now-octogenarians were when we met. We have mourned with those who were mourning and rejoiced with those who were rejoicing.

There’s no question about it—church can be hard, and it can be complicated. Even so, worshipping God with people you know and love can also be beautiful.

There’s no question about it—church can be hard, and it can be complicated. Even so, worshipping God with people you know and love can also be beautiful.

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Praise the Lord Together

Did you ever notice how many of the calls to worship in the psalms are invitations? I think it’s because God views worship in community as a beautiful thing. Psalm 34:3 is just one example:

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!”

As we join in praise with others, we are stimulated to fresh faith. If we land exhausted and wrung out in a pew, we can let ourselves be carried on the praise of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Looking around any house of worship on a Sunday morning provides a vivid tutorial in the power of forgiveness and the mercy of God to bring healing to broken hearts. If you’re hearing great words of praise from a fellow wayfarer, you can be sure that they have experienced God’s help in a time of suffering or loss. Eugene Peterson wrote, “Praising God is not the naive optimism of the sheltered, but the hearty realism of the delivered.”¹

We magnify God’s name because we have found him to be faithful in the past.
We exalt his name in the company of fellow believers because, together, we agree that he alone is worthy of our worship.

If you’re part of a fellowship of believers, hang in there—even if the going gets hard. You’re building something together. When you’re tempted to give up on church, ask yourself, “What story do I want to be able to tell ten years from now?”

If you’re feeling rootless, don’t stop searching for a church that feels like home. In my young adulthood, I thought I was destined forever to a hit-and-run church life. To my great surprise, I’ve received the beautiful gift of worshiping God together with the same church family for over 25 years. But remember this: It happened one Sunday at a time.

Holding You in the Light,

To my great surprise, I’ve received the beautiful gift of worshiping God together with the same church family for over 25 years. But remember this: It happened one Sunday at a time.

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1. Praying with the Psalms, Eugene Peterson ↩︎

P.S. I wrote about Psalm 34:1-2 HERE, asking myself, “What is it here that’s making the humble glad?”
Want to join me in memorizing Psalm 34? It’s a project underway with The Gospel Coalition’s Women’s Initiatives. Just sign up for their newsletter. That’s where I received the beautiful phone wallpaper above, and it’s on my phone to remind me to review the verse.

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