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It doesn’t say we can worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth".  The word "must" makes it absolute.

Four different Hebrew words are translated “worship” in the Authorized Version, but the one used most often is shachah, which means “to bow down, to do homage.”  In the Strong’s Dictionary, shachah is defined as “Prostrate one's self, bow down, the act of bowing down in homage is generally done before a superior ruler”.  In the Old Testament, people would bow to their kings and rulers.  It is first used in Scripture in Genesis 18:2, where Abraham bowed down to the three visitors, one of whom (he discovered) was the Lord from heaven.  “Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby.  When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground” (Genesis 18:2, NIV).  Proskuneo is a key Greek word that is defined in Thayer’s Dictionary as “to kiss toward.”  It is also defined in the New Testament by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication; used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank.  It conveys the idea of showing reverence or doing obeisance to God in John 4:21-24.

Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.  (NIV) 

It doesn’t say we can worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth".  The word "must" makes it absolute.

The Bible does not give us many definitions, but it does give demonstrations and descriptions.  Through Scripture we are shown different examples of how people worshiped God in their trials and times of joy.  When we think of one who endured great trials in Scripture, we think of Job.  Job was greatly tested and was stripped of everything he had.  His trials included his health, loss of ten children, wealth, and status in the community.  Job is an example of a man who had been broken down yet still able to praise the name of the Lord.  In Job 1:21, Job cries out, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (New American Standard Bible (NASB)).  I believe that Job's great victory hinges on the fact that he never lost sight of God in his trial.

Times of joy also demand our worship.  In 2 Samuel we have King David’s great public expression of praise when he learned that they were finally bringing the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem.  David danced, sang songs and exclaimed, “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this” (2 Samuel 6:21-22 NIV).  At this event David was not just a normal guy in the crowd.  He was the king.  Here he was a man of great stature, power, authority and wealth.  Yet he led the way in public, so on fire, worshiping God.

I praise God for the trials I have been through and the great joys I have experienced.   Worship is a beautiful and mysterious thing.  Worship should cause us to reflect on the majesty and graciousness of God and Christ, contrasted to our own unworthiness.  God does not have to have our worship, but we must worship Him to please Him.  True worship is designed by God to bring us closer to Him and to cause us to think more like He thinks, thus becoming more like Him.  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8 (NIV)).  Worshiping God is a serious activity.  It cost Jesus Christ His life to grant us the privilege of coming into the presence of God with our worship and praise.  What a privilege to know and worship a transcendent and immanent God! 

The awesome thing about worship is, it does not end.  There soon will be that happy day when we will be involved in unending, eternal, everlasting worship (Revelation 19-22).  What joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord.

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