Praising When It's Hard

 

Getting up and going to church is never easy.  There are a million things that keep you from wanting to get out of bed or, at least, out the door on a Sunday morning.  Your children, that are normally fine every other day, have the biggest meltdowns on Sunday about shoes, clothes, and where they get to sit in the car.  Your pants that you have worn a million times have suddenly shrunk two sizes too small (yes, I say shrunk because I choose to believe that excuse).  I think the biggest reason is because the enemy does not want you going to God's house.  Why?  Because when you enter God's house others can truly see you.  You no longer get to hide behind only the versions of you that you want people to see on your social media.  As you walk into God's house, His Holy Spirit sees the real us and begins to work on things we have been able to leave untouched for weeks or even months.  The enemy does not want that!  This morning, as I feel the hormonal craze of peri-menopause, I can say that I was not in the mood to have the Holy Spirit work on anything in my life.  I would have preferred just singing a couple of songs, listening to a short sermon, and going to lunch.  But where is the change in that?  Where is the "I must become less that God becomes greater" in my life?  Change is definitely not easy.  Who wants to have our flaws laid out before our Maker?  No one wants God to rip out the things that are not pleasing to Him, but it is necessary.  So today, as I led worship, I submitted to God.  I placed my frustration, my very human need for positive acknowledgement, and my emotional exhaustion on the altar before God and worshiped.  I would have rather brought joy, trust, and peace to the altar as a sacrifice, but that isn't what God wants.  He doesn't ask us to show up in His presence perfect.  If He did, we would never show up.  He asks us to make a sacrifice of praise.  That means that praising God costs something.  It costs us our pain, our hurt, our need for acceptance, and our frustrations.  We give those things up, and He gives us peace that passes understanding, garments of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness, and love that overcomes.  As I felt God's presence lighten my load this morning, I felt better.  I then took this afternoon to talk to my husband and vent about my frustrations.  I mentioned the need for support when I feel overwhelmed.  As I said this, I thought about how we sang the song, The Solid Rock this morning.  He answered my needs before I voiced them.  I found the answer in praise when I didn't realize He was giving it to me.  "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.  On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."  I cannot build my hope in this world.  Civilizations crumble and fall.  I cannot build my hope in people.  They are only human.  They fail and die.  I cannot build my hope in things.  They rust and break.  Only Christ is eternal.  So I realized that as I worshiped God this morning, I not only joined with angels in a vast worship of God this morning, but also that God had already dealt with heart issues as soon as I stepped foot into His house.  

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!