Choosing not feeling…
We don’t always feel like worshipping. When the circumstances of our lives are dire, when we are feeling attacked by others or crushed by the pressures of some circumstance, we might not ‘feel’ like worshiping but that is exactly the moment we could to choose to worship God as David did from the cave of Adullam.
In this moment in David’s life he was being accused and persued by his own people as an outcast. Psalm 57:4 captures the feelings he was experiencing;
My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts – the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords (Psalm 57:4)
In moments like this when it feels like everyone, everything is against me, it is possible to be overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings regarding your plight, in moments like these we are often more inclined to grumble concerning our plight…
But not David in this psalm. David might feel desperate but he chooses to worship God in the midst of his trial, in the midst of the very real and present threat of danger he is in.
In verse 1 in prayer he throws himself into God’s mercy and declares that God is his refuge, a safe place to shelter in until the storms pass by. But by verse 5 begins to worship, he might not feel like worshipping but worship he does;
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)
He contrast between vs4&5 is extreme. David has chosen to worship God, his eyes have lifted from his circumstances so that he sees God again as He is, exalted as the glorious One in the heavens!
Worship is a choice, not merely a feeling. And when we choose to worship even in the midst of perplexing and or challenging circumstances we have chosen wisely. We see more clearly, we get perspective, we get reconnected to the experience of God’s love for us.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! May we choose to worship not just when we feel like it but because God is worthy of our worship because of who He is and what He has done.
Two words that matter 