TWILY Ministries |
Love Notes | Feb 2009
Too Distracted for Wholehearted Worship
The Lord is interested in wholehearted worship, the
only kind that is truly meaningful. In order for
that to happen, though, we must be totally
focused upon Him. Most of us arrive with that goal in mind, but
often, we allow something - or someone -
to distract us. Our thoughts become di-vid-ed,
or worse, fully preoccupied with other
things. Of course, once that happens, we are unable to fully engage or -
to use worship leader lingo - "ENTER
IN". I don't know about you, but when that happens to me, I no longer feel like I'm in worship; I feel like I'm in
the middle of a concert. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy a good
o' wholesome concert
every now and then, but never during worship!
Some may be thinking "So what?", not
yet understanding why this topic even matters. So, for
clarity, let me offer another reason why staying focused during worship does
matter, that reason being the enemy. He must be happy - very happy - when God's
children struggle to remain focused during worship and you know why?
Well, because he himself desires to be worshiped, and he has desired
it from the beginning! Remember how he even tried
to tempt Jesus to worship him (Mt.
4:9)? That alone, saints, is reason enough for us to be determined
to keep our minds "focused on the
Lord" during worship - privately or corporately!
Now, as for actual
distractions, they come in all shapes and
sizes, and don't be fooled, they don't have to be anything extraordinary; ORDINARY STUFF can do the trick.
Sometimes
all it takes is the cry of an innocent baby, while at other times,
it may take something totally different, say, a late-arriver
squeezing in. See, what
I mean, two ordinary things that are quite able to BREAK
our focus, even if only temporarily.
There are plenty others, but I want to bring up just one more, that
being ANXIETY. Anxiety can
shipwreck the worship encounter like nothing else! No, really, think about it.
How can we expect to focus on the Lord, if our minds are already focused on our problems? When we're
anxious, instead of thinking about Him, giving thanks for eternal
life, love, mercy and grace, we
squander the "worship time"
away by searching our own hearts
for answers; Yet, we won't find any good answers in there;
not in our hearts. The Bible tries to
help us avoid such folly in passages like the one below:
"He who trusts in
his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered." - Prov. 28:26
Then, what are
we to do with ANXIETY, the distraction that can surely enough prevent us from
worshiping wholeheartedly? The Apostle Peter provides the answer:
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.- I Peter 5:7
Notice that he did not tell us to "deny
their existence." He tells us to cast
them upon the Lord. You know, when reading this passage in the New
Testament, it comes across as mild or gentle action.
However, Peter is quoting Psalm 55:22,
which uses the Hebrew word shalak and to me, "shalak"
denotes anything but gentle action. The word means to
"throw something away" or
to "cast something out or down" - forcefully. It's
kind of funny, but it reminds me of how I used to forcefully throw chewing gum to the ground, whenever it caused me to bite my
jaw! - LOL. Though humorous, please try to get my point,
which is this: Problems don't willingly vanish from
our minds during worship. We, then, have to "forcefully"
throw them out - right to the One who is able
to handle them.
Well, that brings me to the end of this Love Note, so I leave you with this: The next time you set out to worship the
Lord and you find yourself overcome by anxious thoughts, don't forget
Peter's advice: cast them on the Lord.
When you do, the Lord will grant you relief, freeing you to focus
on Him! That doesn't mean that your problems will suddenly be solved, but
your mind will be refreshed, and with a refreshed mind, you will
be able to hear the "good word" that He has for you, and rest
assured, a "good word" will always make you glad (Prov. 12:25)!
As always, thank you for your wonderful feedback,
praise reports, and words of encouragement. Stay encouraged
and God willing, see you soon.
Sincerely,
Joyce
© 2009 Joyce Bailey
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