when all else fails…
Nothing has gone right recently. Things have been super tough. Emotions have been high. Have you ever had a week like that?
The reality for me is that when times get hard, it’s difficult for me to stay focused on what I need to be focused on. When trouble comes, my natural response is to try and fix everything and make it right. In my “fix-it” mode I can work myself into a mild depression and away from the God I love and preach about.
Recently, I have had an epiphany of sorts. I’ve been reading a lot in the Psalms, and I have realized that David’s response to hard times was praise and worship. Every time troubles came up he moved to worship, and out of his worship he became confident of his future.
This past week, I have tried to do the same thing. When the tough moments have shown up, I’ve gotten out my guitar or played some music on itunes and just worshipped. I don’t fully understand it, I can’t fully explain it, but my confidence has truly increased in the Lord as I have begun to live a life filled with worship.
I guess the reason for it, is that when we worship we place what’s being worshipped as the #1 priority in our life. As I have made sure my relationship with Christ is in order, Him being #1, everything has began to fall back into place. Don’t get me wrong, my life isn’t perfect, and I’m definitely not perfect, but I think I know why David was a worshipper – he knew he needed God first.
The fact of the matter is we too need God to be first in our lives. If He’s not, my suggestion is to start with worship. It has worked for me. Praise Jesus it has worked for me.
Refreshing & inspiring! My favorite line from Facing the Giants (totally paraphrasing is we will praise him when we win and we will praise him when we lose.
Great post bro! Often times, if I find myself in a "funk" it is because I have lost focus on what I should be focused on. We talked about that in my Sunday school class a little bit today. We were finishing up the Feasts study by Threads. Today was about Hanukkah and we were talking about re-dedication. The question I asked the class was, "What do you do to re-dedicate your life?" I meant that in a "If you've lost focus" sort of way. I always find that reading God's Word and praying always help me get headed back in the right direction. I may start adding music to that as I go through those times in the future. Thanks again for the post.