I Choose Today to Worship—Even Here

(from Episode 18 of the I Choose Today podcast)

I’ve had Isaiah 43:1–2 highlighted in my Bible for years. You’ve probably seen them before too—verses that speak to God’s presence in the hard places.

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

They’re the kind of verses you cling to when life gets hard. But recently, it wasn’t the verses I had highlighted that stopped me. It was verse 4.

“Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”

I had to just sit with that.

This isn’t surface-level love. This is sacrificial love. Personal love. The kind of love that says, “I see you. I choose you. I gave everything for you.”

There have been seasons where I couldn’t grasp that kind of love. Seasons when shame clouded my vision, or grief left me feeling forgotten.

There was a time in my life—before ministry, before healing, before I really knew God—when I felt like an invisible little girl. Scared. Unseen. Carrying wounds no one else could see.

But then God met me. Not with judgment or shame. Not with religious demands. But with love.

And this is what He spoke to my heart:

“Mo, I see you. Come with Me, and I will show you how I see you—who you are to Me, who I created you to be. You are My beloved daughter in whom I delight.

Allow Me to walk you through this journey, equipping you with the tools and practical application on how to use them—for your good, for others’ healing, and for My glory.

Let Me show you what a true Father’s love looks like: pure, perfect. A love that gives—not takes.

Let Me turn your story of hurt and despair into a story of hope for others to see.

I allowed you to walk through struggle because I needed a strong person to show others their hope is found in Me alone.

I love you, Mo. I will be with you always. I will NEVER abandon you. I will go before you and make a way for you to use your hope story to encourage others.”

He transformed my life.

And friend, if He did it for me, He can do it for you. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to reach out, take His hand, and allow the journey to unfold.

That’s what worship is—it’s the life that rises in response to that kind of love.

And then I read Isaiah 43 again—not just the parts about walking through the fire—but the part that says, “I have called you by name. You are Mine.”

That’s what breaks me open.

Because His love isn’t fragile or fair-weathered. It isn’t shallow or vague. It doesn’t depend on how I’m performing or how faithful I’ve been.

It’s a love that speaks my name in the middle of my mess.

It’s a love that reminds me—even when I feel broken, overwhelmed, or unworthy—that I belong to the One who traded heaven for earth… and then gave His life in my place.

And that’s why we worship.

Not to get God’s attention.

Not to earn love.

Not because we have it all together.

We worship because we’ve already been loved.

We worship because we’ve already been chosen.

We worship because He already called us by name.

This is where worship begins—not with a song or a feeling, but with belonging.

Before we move forward in this worship series, I want to invite you to start here. In this place of being seen. Known. Loved. Ransomed.

You are His.

And that changes everything.

Today’s Step:

Find a quiet space—just you and God. Open your Bible to Isaiah 43:1–4 and read it out loud. Let the words fall over you like a covering. Then ask, “Lord, what does it mean that You call me precious?” Sit with Him. Let worship rise—not from striving, but from seeing.