"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men."
-C.S. Lewis

Can I just say, that I could not agree with this statement more?
Last night I had the immense blessing of being able to go see Hillsong United in concert with some dear friends as well as my brother, (you can listen to one of my favorites here) and I just gotta say, the Lord was there. He was bringing healing to hearts that had been broken, bringing peace to minds that were not at rest, and giving joy to those who had been in sadness. He was moving hearts to follow His leading, and teaching others of His crazy love. He did all these things and more. 
And you know what I love?
I love that I don't have to be in a stadium filled with people to experience God's presence through worship, in fact, I've had some of the most memorable worship experiences with little to no people at all and with little to no music at all. Whether that was standing with brothers and sisters in a heat-filled gym singing "How He Loves" after a long day of ministry in Detroit, or the time I laid on an ice-filled road looking up at thousands of stars and felt so, so small, or the time I sat on a lifeguard stand at 6 in the morning watching the sun come up across the Jersey shore, and sang "You're Beautiful," His presence was there. It was all over. 
And it didn't matter that the guitarist wasn't great, or that the voices were off, or that no one was singing at all...it was worship, and God's presence was there, just like it was last night...when the guitarist was perfect, and the voices were never off, and I was surrounded by more people than ever before singing praises to a God who was doing so many good things in so many hearts. When we worship the Savior King, He shows up, His presence is there. 
Another thing I've been learning, He is worth our praise. He is worth our time. He is worth all that we could possibly try to give. 
Now, I've always been taught this, always "known" it, but sometimes you just have to be reminded, and for me, that means being reminded more than once, and these past couple weeks I have been reminded again and again that He in fact is worth it.
He is worth the sacrifice, worth the pain, worth the time, worth the persecution, He is worth it all!
I amaze myself at how many times I find myself wondering if this life with Christ is worth it, and the thing I discovered is that it's not worth it without Him. 
I need Him every moment. I need His grace and love, I need His presence every single moment. And if the quote by C.S. Lewis is true, that means that my every moment must be a state of worship in order to have his presence communicated to me. I want to be in worship, no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, I want to be in awe of His love and sacrifice and grace, because he is worth it. And maybe you know that, but maybe (like me) you need to be reminded. Guys, He is worth it all. He's worth the time spent in His word, worth the sacrifice of obeying His voice, worth the pain that sometimes (oftentimes) comes with obedience. He is so worth it. Live as though that were true, because it is true. 

"You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
-Revelation 4:11