Pastor David Wilkerson of Times Square Church in New York City wrote this: worshippers are not made during revivals, in the good, sunny times, or periods of victory and health. Worshippers of God are made during dark stormy nights. And how we respond to our storms determines just what kind of worshippers we are.
How fitting that I read this after my blogs on giving and taking (December 30), new life (December 31) and words (yesterday). Words and thoughts that are kept positive are uplifting. When we are able to give when we sometimes would rather take, we benefit from it. New life in Christ gives us a new hope and new joy because we give of ourselves and not just take from Him. He brings comfort to our weary souls and when we can praise God in our difficulties we are able to share that comfort with others.
Just because we're in relationship with God and have this new life and work toward a better thought life, and ultimately better words, doesn't mean we'll be without trouble in our lives. Even our Pastor, Rory Grooters, brought this up on Sunday. I'm sure in any true Bible believing church it is preached. We need to be reminded that the ultimate end is the most important and all we go through to meet that end is nothing compared to the goodness of our spiritual eternal life.
That's where worshipping comes in. We praise God in good times and bad. We thank Him that even if we don't see what good a certain bad situation we're in is, we know God does and He's in control. As Pastor Rory also mentioned, we don't blame God for any of our circumstances. So keeping a worshipful attitude will get us through the circumstance. It may not ever go away, but maintaining a worshipful attitude toward God relieves some of the tension, pain, hurt, difficulty. On the other hand, praising God in the midst of trouble could very well get us through much quicker.
God loves it when we can overcome our troubles through worship. Praise God! We also have a lifetime of things to worship God for. We don't need to be in church to do this. If we have received Christ, He dwells within us. When you view God's creation and have this overwhelming feeling of awe, that's worship. Thankfulness is worship. Singing of Him is worship. Delighting in Him is worship. Reading and listening to His voice in the Word is worship. Obeying His commands is worship. Loving is worship. We can do it every moment of our lives.
The world today, in general, does not worship God. They are consumed with their own lives. He is not part of the picture. They are missing out on God's blessings. He does not live within them.
It's time even for the Church to begin to set aside it's own agenda and truly seek God in worship. Stop with the seeker friendly messages to maintain and/or grow congregations. Begin to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
We know that some day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Him. Why not now? Why wait? It will happen anyway, whether it's done today or on the day He returns. Worship is defined as bowing down...the highest form of worship. Humbling ourselves before God. Isaiah 45:23-24 - I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Shall is the key word. We can do it today and be blessed or wait. It's a choice we each have to make.
Seek God now and the truth of who He is will be revealed. Understanding will come. We will be able to worship Him in the way He desires us to worship Him. Why struggle against it? It is my desire this year to pay more attention to worship. To be thankful in more situations than in the past. The day is over, a new has begun. The year is over and a new has begun. His mercies are new every morning. I thank Him for that. I will worship Him for each new day and the peeling away of my outer layers that He will be seen more in my life.
...in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (Psalm 27:5, 2Corinthians 1:3-4)
WOW, was the type big enough for ya??
ReplyDeleteWell, your one label DOES say, "Magnifying God!" Great post!
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