My 18 year old nephew was diagnosed with a 2.5 inch brain tumor on Saturday. He graduated from High School last night. He had surgery on Monday, two days before this devo was published. He’s a really sweet, easy going, beautiful kid. Everybody likes him. I talked with my brother on the phone. We prayed and cried and reminded ourselves of whom God is and what He is like, what He has done and what His promises are. It’s a rough place.
PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy. (Psalm 99, NIV)
I don’t know if David created this psalm during a crisis time, but it seems he is intentionally remembering the truth about God. When problems, worries, dreaded situations, anger, sadness or despair come to steal joy, the only way out of that darkness that I have found is to remember the truth.
Worship is remembering the truth about who God is, and speaking it out to Him and to ourselves at the same time. We remember how big and capable and good He is. We remember that this world is but a vapor—it’s not the whole deal. We remember that we are completely loved in every moment and nothing can take that away. That grace covers everything.
Sometimes this worship—this remembering—comes by looking at the beauty He has created around me or looking back in my life and thanking God for specific things and ways that He has provided goodness in my life. Saying it out loud or writing it down. This alone will often shift my perspective and my heart back to hope and joy.
Or, like David, I can also remind myself of who God has been for other people, how I have seen Him work miraculously in their lives. How He has answered so many prayers in so many situations. “...they called upon the LORD and He answered them” (verse 6).
Sometimes I am so far from truth that all I can do is grab hold of words of truth someone else has come up with—a worship song usually—and sing the phrases over and over until the truth of the words penetrate the darkness of my heart. I usually know when this happens as I am nearly always moved to tears at this point. Truth comes in like a spring rain and the grimey build-up gets washed away. It feels really good.
POINT OF ACTION:
Worship Jesus. Speak out truth about Him until your heart really remembers who He is, what He is like, how He loves you, who you are to Him. He is and has been so good that He wholly deserves this from us and it will restore truth and joy to your soul even in the hardest of circumstances.
PRAYER:
Jesus, I worship You because when I do I remember that You are BRILLIANT, BEAUTIFUL and KIND. The negatives of my life lose their power over me when I am looking at You. I remember that I am in the arms of my “Big Daddy” and it’s all okay again.
WHO AM I?
I am Lisa Kirby. Will Reagan and United Pursuit have a worship song that Chris and I have been singing often lately. The simple words are: “I know that I can trust you” “I lean not on my own understanding, my life is in the hands of the Maker of Heaven” “I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open” “There’s nothing I hold on to” “I give it all to You God trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me.” Here’s the video:
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