Good morning. It is Sunday, our day of worship. I would like to challenge you today by considering the single most important aspect of worship, whether it is when we are gathered together in a place of worship, or living our way through another ordinary day or week.
The single greatest test of worship is to keep the Lord always at the front of our thoughts. David recognized this truth as he writes in Psalm 16:8-9
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in practicing the continued presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our “practicing” we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits — not rules of nature, they are not the law of gravity —which means that habits can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us.
It takes purposeful steps, conscious decisions, to carry out the goal of keeping God at the front of our thoughts. But when we train ourselves to think in this way we will find that our minds will soon return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings. Again, from David, this time, Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
The image is of a beast, a deer, soon after a hard run and desperate for a drink of water. The deer knows it is vital that he finds the water soon. The deer knows that nothing else will suffice. The deer longs for, pants for, what he needs to quench his thirst. In the same way, David says that he is in need. It is not an idea or a request, it is a basic need that must be met. As the deer pants for water, so does King David long for the presence of his God always to be at the forefront of his life.
Jesus Christ is, of course, the Door, the Light, and the Way. We are privileged to walk in this profound reality, not just preach it. We receive God into our minds by receiving Jesus. The way forward then lies in intentionally keeping the scenes and words of the Gospels before our minds, carefully reading and rereading them until their truths have become central to our thinking. We revive them in word and imagination as we arise in the morning, as we move through the events of the day, and as we lie down at night. By this means we walk with Him moment by moment — the One who has promised to be with us always.
As a beginning step in this “practicing” process, we can choose to practice constantly returning our minds to God in Christ throughout a given day. In the evening, we can then review how we did and think of ways to do it better the next day. As we continue to practice, gently but persistently, we soon will find that the person of Jesus and His beautiful words are “automatically” occupying our minds instead of the clutter and noise of the world. We will find His peace much easier to recall and to claim. We will find His love more powerful and more available. All of this is ours when we practice ways to keep Him at the front of our thoughts.
Let it begin in worship. Keep the Lord your God in the front of your thoughts throughout worship, whether singing songs, hearing a message from the Word, or reaching out in fellowship.
God bless your worship, today and always.
Vern