The Lord is in
his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him. ~ Habakkuk 2:20
let all the earth be silent before him. ~ Habakkuk 2:20
I went to a church service recently and the minister in charge was seated in front of the altar singing and praying to the Lord during the sound check, and I was immediately drawn into the worship. Meanwhile, people were in and around the sanctuary, talking and socializing with one another. It was as if two worlds were in one place, but the more they talked, the more he continued to sing and pray in the spirit as if it were just he and the Lord. I wondered if anyone really understood what was going on, that they were being invited by God Himself to put aside their mundane conversations and join in the worship, or if they were just there, waiting for the program to start, so that they could 'get their praise on'! I wondered if they realized that worship begins long before a church service starts, that we are to come into the sanctuary with a heart of worship. No matter what is going on, our focus is to be on God, to give thanks and praise, to pray, cry out, and do whatever we need to do, to get into His presence. It's not up to the worship leaders to bring us into God's presence. Their role is to lead and inspire the way into worship, and then we then decide to follow them, as they follow Christ.
When we come into the sancturary, it's not the time to have long conversations or greetings during praise and worship. There is nothing more important than the communication that we have with The Most High. Cell phones should be turned off and not answered, bluetooths need to be put away. It is a shame for us to be texting and posting to Facebook and Twitter when worship is going on. How focused are we on God, if we have time to check-in and let everyone know that we are basking in His presence? Do we understand that if we have an divine encounter with God, sending a text or a post would be the last thing we would be doing, or have we become so familiar with Christian jargon and the need to impress others that we need to say something that sounds spiritual but is devoid of meaning?
We take so much for granted when it comes to the presence of God. But, there are so many things going on around us that we can't afford to take the worship of God lightly. People are suffering with all kinds of illnesses, tragedies, finacial lack, family challenges, spiritual and emotional distress and discouragement. One of the benefits of worship is hearing The Holy Spirit speak to our hearts so that we can receive guidance and help from God, to be a blessing to those around us. We don't come into the sancturary for own benefit and blessings alone, or to entertained or amused, God wants to speak to us... about our lives, about other's lives, and to give us revelation about who He is. Are we listening?
~~~
God is speaking...
God is speaking...
so come into the
sanctuary
and quiet yourself
remove your
spirit from the cares and busyness
will you be still
and listen for God’s voice in the secret place of reverence and respect
separate from the
inner and outer noise of constant chaos
or continue to
block out the sound of His words
speaking life to
your soul?
you are invited
to come from the
weariness and receive peace
and receive water
from the well
that will never
run dry
come and drink
and be filled
and take the
waters of life to the world
God is speaking...
God is speaking...
