Being in The Courts of the King

Being in The Courts of the King

A few weeks ago, I was considering the concept of the courts of the king – in medieval concepts as well as ancient (like David and Saul) – even looking up visual representations on what it actually looked like and how it functioned. 

Simultaneously, I was going through what some may call ‘a dry season’. To be honest, I don’t even know how long I have been in this season for. It seemed that life and distractions kept getting in the way of everything and suddenly I was dry. As it is in the natural when you are working without thinking about water – suddenly you feel parched.

Of course, I have been doing the right things, I spend time in regular worship and in His Word. I pray regularly. But all of these activities, good as they are, were becoming activities to do and I was not taking the opportunities to ‘be’ in the moment. In essence, I was playing a minstrel in the King’s Court – without considering the honour it was to be there.

The King’s Court was the place where activities of governance, jurisdiction and even justice were upheld. It was a privileged place, reserved for officials, governors and workers. Of course, a minstrel has a place in the King’s Court. But, as I’ve been doing these activities I missed an invitation to just be there – and just be still before His presence.

Of course, I will continue to worship regularly, to pray and study His Word. But, as I place my primary focus on just being ‘present’ before Him, these activities are much more substantive. It’s not just music filling the silence, I have heard the King singing and begun to play along.

The importance of being ‘present’ in worship was told by Jesus when he spoke to the woman at the well.

‘Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”’
John 4:21-24 (NKJV)

While talking to the woman at the well, Jesus highlighted that the Samaritans were worshipping, without full understanding. But, the time was coming when all worship to God must be approached through “spirit and truth”. We are spiritual beings (body, mind, spirit: 1 Thess 5:23, Mark 12:30) and in the same way that we can act thoughtlessly – or think without acting; we can have dry worship with just our mind – or just our body and not our ‘spirit’. Worshipping in spirit is not just the Holy Spirit, but engaging our full self (human spirit) -open before God – with no pretense and full surrender.

Your body is just your location, but it does house the Holy Spirit. But as we can act thoughtlessly sometimes, we can also act without our full self- and engaging the Holy Spirit: even in worship. However, the first key is just learning to be; and know that He will be there too.