Choosing Worship

Wasn’t this Sunday’s message on worship wonderful? It is so good to be reminded that there are a variety of ways we can and should praise the Lord! I felt the Spirit move and the joy of the Lord course through my heart as I have not for a while. I was very convicted that I had allowed my circumstances with miscarriages and fertility struggles over the past couple of years to influence my desire for the Lord. God is good all the time, and He is always worthy of my praise, even when difficulty comes and life is not as I had hoped.

Now, we have this precious little baby boy to love and care for, which brings us great hope. Yet, we do not know if he is to be ours forever or for just a time, which can cause us fear if we dwell on tomorrow. The Lord has certainly been challenging me to find my joy and contentment in Him alone and not my circumstances, but even more, He has been challenging me to worship and praise in the midst of difficulty and uncertainty. Whenever we have sung the song that says, “You give and take away. You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, ‘Lord, blessed be Your name,’” I have to ask myself if that is really true of me. Is there anything that would cause me to not praise the Lord if He took it away? We must guard our hearts against such idols, even seemingly good things.

I was reminded today of one of my favorite verses on desiring the Lord. Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” As we praised the Lord together this morning, I remembered that passion and joy in the Lord. I need to take more time to praise His name, to remember that I always have my great and loving God.

What about you? What is taking away from your worship of the Lord? What is challenging your desire for God? Perhaps the next time we notice that struggle, we should turn up the praise music and remember who our God is and how joyful it is to seek His beautiful face and to remember that He will take care of us in the midst of our struggles. This is by no means to make light of serious struggle, but to remember how great He is over the most difficult times!

Judith Graham