We tend to worship God spontaneously when circumstances are going well. It’s also true that our worship of God seems unnatural when our circumstances are unpleasant. In the devotional below, Dr. David Jeremiah helps us to see how our changing that mindset not only honors God, it also helps us.
Turning Point - Dr. David Jeremiah - Friday, May 24, 2024 - Worshiping in the Darkness
I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. Psalm 138:1
The nineteenth-century South African pastor and writer Andrew Murray was feeling unwell one day when he wrote down a few paragraphs in his journal. The last line he wrote was a summary: “I am here (1) by God’s appointment, (2) in His keeping, (3) under His training, (4) for His time.”1
Recommended Reading: Job 42:1-6
In short, Andrew Murray wrote down four reasons for worshiping God even in times of trouble. If we are where we are by God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, and for His time, what could we possibly have to worry about? Those four points are usually what we think when things are going well, when we really feel like worshiping God. But if they are true all the time, even when things are hard, why wouldn’t we worship God in those times as well? We agree with Job: “Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)
We don’t worship God because things are good or otherwise. We worship Him because of His sovereign oversight and care for our life.
Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. V. Raymond Edman
1. Robert J. Morgan, The Red Sea Rules (Nashville, TN: W Publishing, 2014), 13.