Denise Whitfield
Director of Cristian Education
Worship Through It
We have all kinds of natural responses to unexpected, unpleasant, and unwanted circumstances. No one has to teach us what to feel when we experience disillusionment, hurt and betrayal. When our daughter, Rebecca, was about 3 years old, she had to have blood drawn. The experienced, pediatric healthcare workers in the lab instructed me to hold her firmly on my lap. Rebecca was facing forward as I had my arms wrapped around her upper body in what I will describe as a “hug hold” (somewhat resembling a straight-jacket). One nurse squatted down in front, facing Rebecca and me. She placed her hands on Rebecca’s knees, holding her legs still. A second nurse was holding the arm where they planned to draw the blood, and a phlebotomist was ready to do the dastardly deed. When the mission was accomplished and all the adults released their grip . . . Rebecca started swinging and kicking. I am sure in her little 3-year-old spirit she felt sabotaged. No one had to teach her that what she had just experienced was hurtful, and no one had trained her to want to hurt someone in response. It came to her naturally.
The sufferings and conflicts endured here on a cursed earth among only naturally sinful people create the perfect set-up for unbridled, fleshly reactions. It is easy to immediately react with anger towards another, especially if that anger has been fueled through the years by burning resentment. In some situations, we might withdraw, hoping to avoid any further pain caused by continued vulnerability. If the difficulty we face is unrelenting and there seems little hope for change, our hearts can become as stone–lifeless. Life is hard—it is natural to react to it.
So as Jesus followers, what are we to do in the face of the ongoing troubles of this world? We respond with ardent worship. We do ourselves a tremendous disservice if we only think of worship as a specific, moment-in-time, church led activity. Worship should be our go-to antidote for earthly living. We worship God through the pain because the Scriptures tell us there are some very extraordinary results born out of our worship. Today I focus on two catalytic movements within the spiritual realm that occur when we worship: God inhabits our praise—our Heavenly Father draws ever nearer (Psalm 22:3, James 4:8a). And Satan flees. He has no desire to hang around and hear the sincere praise of God (Psalm 8:2, John 3:20). We all naturally understand that superior power and a neutralized enemy is a winning combination. It is the practice of praise that we must make our trouble default setting. It’s not natural. But it works. When troubles come—worship the Lord!
“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:1-2
“I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146:2
“the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh
but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4