MERRY THURSDAY BY PARRIS BAILEY-
OUR OCCUPATION OF WORSHIP!
“My Soul doth Magnify The Lord” Luke 1:46
The word magnify means to “greaten God”. When we praise God we have come to the ultimatum for which we are saved. “He has made us accepted in the Beloved” and the glory of God is to my mind the highest conceivable end – it certainly is the chief end of my being. Mary made it her occupation and like Mary I join her occupation!
Just think about it, we can praise him when we are in the worst possible scenario. I can still imagine John Bunyan in that horrible prison cell seeing the “crimson river” and writing “Pilgrim Progress”. He too could join in with Mary and sing “My soul doth magnify”. He made it his occupation. The meaning of occupation is: a regular activity that occupies one’s time, a person under service of another by hire and a career, a course through life. Worship becomes ones course through life when that someone is impacted by God.
We don’t have to wait for church to greaten God. In fact, gracious people just become overwhelmed at his goodness. No one else but Elizabeth heard Mary sing that day, but somehow millions have read her outburst.
Some of you would love the fact that magnifying his greatness requires no “out of pocket” cost to you. In fact, the African Methodist church still sing their “spirituals” (songs) which were birthed out of George Whitefield’s preaching on the plantations. His preaching ignited a fire and a hope that’s lifts us out of this present world into an eternal one. Silver and gold have I none!
It doesn’t require great talent or voice to pursue this particular occupation. Whether we find ourselves humming, whistling or belting out our praises, God is a keen listener and rewarder to all those that diligently seek him. We open wide the prison gates of our soul and the King of Glory truly comes in.
We don’t ever retire from this occupation. We can magnify God as long as we live and have breathe and then some.
I love this song by Toby Mac of late:
It’s almost show time, and diverse city is waitin’ on me
We got a packed house, the crowd is callin’ out
They want the beat to drop, but what we really need is you
(Chorus)
If you wanna steal my show, I’ll sit back and watch you go
If you got somethin’ to say, go on and take it away
Need you to steal my show, can’t wait to watch you go-o-o-o
So take it away
So now the crowd is hype, that you showed up tonight
Anticipatin’, cravin’, somethin’ more than smoke and lights
So I’ll step out the way, I’ll give you center stage
Alright, Spotlight give ’em what they came for
(Chorus)
When you arrive, we come to life
Our hearts collide, they’re beating in the same time
You’re comin’ through, all eyes on you
Our hearts collide they’re beating in the same time,
Beating in the same time
No matter who we are, no matter what we do
Every day we can chose to say
(Chorus)
My Life, my friends, my heart, It’s all yours, God, take it away, my dreams
my fears, my family, my career, take it away, It’s all yours, God
Take it away, take it away, “Steal my Show’