As children bring their broken
toys With tears for us to mend, I brought my broken dreams to
God Because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him In
peace to work alone, I hung around and tried to help With ways that were
my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried, "How could you be so
slow?" "My child," He said, "what could I do?" "You never did let
go."
[ Author Unknown ]
How many times in our lives do we cry out to God to help us overcome a problem we are experiencing in our lives and never feel that God is doing anything for us?
Maybe we haven't really let go of the problem so that God can help us.
Psalms 144:1 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
Psalms 144:7-8 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
Faith, a word that has been lingering on my mind today. The definition of faith according to Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. According to dictionary.com, faith is having confidence or trust in a person; a belief that is not based on proof; belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings.
When I get in my car to drive from point A to point B, I don't do a 10 point inspection of my car before leaving my garage. I don't raise the hood of my car to make sure the engine is still where it's suppose to be. I don't stand and stare at my car asking myself, "Am I sure this car will get me to my destination?" No, I don't do any of this! I get in my car, put the key in the ignition, start the car and put it in the proper gear. I drive to my destination without a worry. Now, if there were something obviously wrong with the car, I would have to stop and fix the problem. Sometimes, I will need to stop the car in order to refuel it otherwise, my car will stop moving and leave me stranded.
I have faith in a car to get me around town, but what does my faith look like in Christ? Do I pause to do a 10 point inspection each time I read God's word, or hear Him speak to me? Do I question God's words to me every time? Or, do I just get up and say, "Okay God, I'm ready to go!"
I read about people from the old testament, new testament or people from this era that I have read about and even met that had/have an unwavering faith. Let's look at Noah for instance. Noah believed in God, he worshiped God and when God told Noah to build an Ark and handed him the instructions for building it, Noah built it. The Bible tells us that people laughed at him and ridiculed him for building such a strange contraption. I am sure that when Noah told his neighbors that God was going to cause water to fall from the sky, called rain, and cause the earth to flood, repent of your sinful ways and join me and my family on the Ark, they laughed at him. Maybe they even made a sign to display to the entire town that said, "Noah is one crazy man! Stay away from that guy!" Noah stayed faithful. I am sure that he felt sad at times and maybe even angry at times. I am sure that his heart broke for those who would not be entering the Ark with him. What feelings would go through ones mind knowing that all would be lost? Noah still remained faithful and obedient to God's calling. As a result, he and his family were saved from the great flood that destroyed the entire world.
Joseph, the beloved son Jacob who was hated by this brothers and who sold him into slavery, had great faith in God. Joseph was taken far away from his home and made to be a slave. Just when things were going smooth for him, a women accused him of a crime he didn't commit, and as a result Joseph was thrown into prison. I can't begin to imagine what it is like to be a slave. Sometimes I feel like a slave to my kids always cleaning up after them and driving them here and there, and sometimes I feel like the slave master making my kids clean their rooms. But what I feel here at home does not begin to compare to what the meaning of a "slave" really is. I have read many horrible experiences from those who were taken from their homeland, Africa, and shipped to America to be slaves to rich land owners of the South. I have read how the Jews were taken from their homes during the reign of Hitler and made at work as slaves within the concentration camps. Maybe Joseph experienced some of these same things. Prison may have been a worse place to be. I don't know, but what I do know is that even though Joseph may have experienced awful treatment as a slave and prisoner, he still remained faithful to his God in heaven. As a result, Joseph was able to save his family and an entire nation from dying during the great drought.
Paul, in the new testament, a man with a temper whose prior job was to kill Christians, was transformed by the power of God. Paul had great faith in the God that gave him a new life. Paul was jailed many times for the sole purpose of preaching the Gospel to those around him. Today, this is still happening to preachers and believers around the world. But despite what people may say to and about them, they still hold on to their faith and endure. Paul may have never known the full impact that he made to the Gentile world, but many were saved because of his faithfulness to sharing God's word.
Personally, many of us have not experienced some of what I just mentioned. On the other hand, we all in some way have experienced illness, death, broken relationships, financial troubles, joblessness, and many other things that can bring us down and test us. Faith should be a constant in our life, but it is during these times when our faith is tested. Is my faith strong enough that it can endure a long term illness, a broken relationship, or a death? Is my faith strong enough to endure any hardship that I may encounter in my life?
Just as I need to stop and put gas in my car to keep it moving so I can reach my destination, our faith must also be refueled. In other words, we must read our bibles, pray and even lift our hearts in worship to our Heavenly Father. These thing are what refuels our faith because if we don't, we will begin to lose our faith. It will begin to fade until suddenly, we stop having faith.
We were never promised that our life would be easy, but we are promised that God will see us through our hard times. But we must have faith in God, a faith that will allow us to believe God will supply all our needs, not according to our will, but His perfect will. We may never know what impact our display of faith will have on someone who sees us. What does your faith look like? Is it strong enough to sustain you through your hardships?
2 Chronicles 20:20-21 Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." NIV
Isaiah 7:9 If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'" NIV Matthew 17:20 I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. " NIV
Acts 14:22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," NIV
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you NIV
John 4:19-24 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV
Last week I had to teach Sunday School. Our lesson was about the Woman at the well. I am very familiar with this story, but there was a few verses that really stood out in my mind as I studied. The passages was John 4:19:24. The woman questions Jesus as to where the right place is to worship God, on the mountain where the Samaritans have worshiped for years, or in Jerusalem where the Jews worship God. Jesus tells her that it didn't matter where you worship what matters is that the true worshipers will worship in spirit and Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in Truth.
I began to wonder what it looked like to worship in spirit and truth. Am I a true worshiper or am I just doing what I am suppose to do? How far off am I from being a true worshiper? As I asked myself these questions, I prayed and asked God to show me what does this look like and what do I need to do to change. < Always be prepared when you ask questions like this....>
Sunday morning came quickly and I was to get a full dose of "worshipping in spirit and truth." That Sunday at church, I did something that I never dreamed of doing, stopping and praying over someone who was in need of prayer. I prayed with 3 ladies that day. I sang with confidence that Sunday (I am in the choir/praise team). To my surprise the sermon was from Mark chapter 7. Our worship needs to come from our hearts and not our lips. We need to let go of our traditions. The things we do all the time. The things we do without hardly thinking about it. We cannot worship God from our hearts if we are holding on to traditions. Traditions never change. They are constant. When we worship from our hearts, we are free to worship in the way that the Holy Spirit leads us. A way that will be honoring to God and only God! A way that will not draw attention to ourselves but that will draw other's attention towards God.
So, back to my questions: Do I worship in spirit and truth. The sad thing is, not really. I am holding on to my fears. I am hold on to some traditions. I am reminded that if I want to be a true worshipper, I will need to set aside all my fears. I will need to not concentrate on what others will think of me. I need to let go! I need to allow the Spirit to move. I need to allow the Spirit to flow freely though me and to put my focus on God.
Just a note, Sunday is not the only day we can worship God. It should be a daily thing. It may not always come in the form of a song either, but though our prayers; through our service and though our quite time.
Synonyms for worship: honor, adoration, revere, adore,glorify, adulate (excessive devotion).
