From Wine to Worship

It can be very easy to confuse the effect of something with the thing itself. There is a beautiful moment in the story of Elijah where God tells Elijah to come out of the cave he was hiding in to meet with Him. The Bible says that the Lord passed by, and with that there were several effects of his presence: a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But Elijah knew the difference between the effects of God's presence, and God himself.

It is especially dangerous in worship to make the same mistake. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us that our songs of worship are to be an effect of being filled with the Holy Spirit. If our worship doesn't come from a lifestyle of being filled with the Spirit, and if it doesn't lead us into further submission to the Spirit, then our worship can become something altogether different.