The Courage to Worship
DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE?
What if the current fitness of your body reflected your faith? (Takes Body of Christ to a whole 'nother level, doesn't it?) I do not ask the question expecting every woman to be a size 6 nor do I envision every man to have a 6-pack, but perhaps if we were literally able to look our faith in the mirror as we do our bodies we would be inclined to take better care of it. Add more Fruit of the Spirit to our diet. Cut back on the bitter salt of comparison and doubt. Drink more living water.
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ~John 6:35, New International Version
A Good Stretch
I began the prayer earlier this week with the words of an old gospel hymn I heard almost every Sunday during the devotion period at the church I attended as a child:
Father, I stretch my hands to Thee,
No other help I know,
If I withdraw myself from Thee,
Ah! Wither shall I go.*
(If you missed Monday's prayer, check it out here.)
There are (and will be) times when nothing else satisfies but Jesus.
Like good physical therapy the benefits of our worship of Him - pure, loving, transparent, no-holding-back worship - always manifest first in painful, inarticulate places.
I know you don't want to go there.
Do it anyway.
Trust the process.
God loves our worship, but we need it.
Muscle Memory
If God is all you got, God is all you need.
For those of you who have been riding with GOD 'n Me for a while, you know I say this often.
Here's why...
The launching season of my non-profit was so hard. Just thinking of those days as I write this makes tears swell up in my eyes.
For years, this prayer stayed on my lips.
One Sunday morning serving as a minister-in-training, I was charged to help lead the congregation in prayer. I was glad to do so, to do anything that would take my mind off the week I just had.
As the Spirit of God began to fall, it was my time to pray. My face already soaked with tears all I could say was,
"If God is all we've got, God is all we need"
then I dropped to my knees.
I had nothing else to give.
For years, the muscles of my faith had been stretched.
Believe and believe again.
Trust and trust more.
Obey and obey despite.
But the muscle memory of faith reminded me
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ~Hebrews 13:8, NIV
Thank you, Lord, for giving me what I needed to stay sane until breakthrough.
Conclusion
God loves worship. You need it, but first you have to know Him and love Him for yourself. If you don't already have Jesus and Lord and Savior over your life, I encourage you today to stretch:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ~Romans 10:9-10 NIV
He is all you need to get by.
Or, if Christ is already your king, wonderful!
Keep the muscles of your faith nimble and ready.
Never be too confident in your own strength that you cannot drop to your knees in submission to the Source of all you could ask, think, or imagine.
And remember, as always, I love you but God loves you more.
“Be strong and courageous,...
~Joshua 1:6
This is the final installment in our Courage series! I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring God's divine call for courage as we walk the Way. I would love to know your take-a-ways from the series: Was there a point of courage that spoke to you? Something that prompted you to do different? Reply back to this email and let me know. I love a good testimony! Next week, we will celebrate the Thanksgiving season in the US, but I invite everyone to join me for prayers of Thanksgiving all week. See you then!
PHILLIPA WILLIAMS
Author | Founder | Ministry Coach
We break cycles here.
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