Sunday, October 31, 2010

Grace for the Sluggish Heart

What do you do when your heart is sluggish, and you feel somewhat Worship Challenged.   Here's some good counsel from Bryan Mowrey at Confluence to follow the example of King David.
I find David in the Psalms to be incredibly helpful. David is a man well aware of God's grace, but there were times in his life where he just forgot, and he needed to remind himself of God's goodness, which is exactly what Psalm 103 is all about. This Psalm starts out, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits." David is essentially saying, "Come on soul. Why are you so sluggish? Why do you sleep before this God? Wake up soul! Remember His benefits, which are many." Then David begins to list out all of the benefits he can remember: He forgives sin, heals diseases, redeems, crowns with love and compassion. He satisfies our desires with good things, justice for the oppressed, He has made His ways known. He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Will no accuse, will not harbor anger forever, and will not treat us as our sins deserve...thank you Jesus!

David, in this midst of reminding himself of all God's benefits, can no longer contain His worship and begins to encourage everything around him to bless the Lord. "Bless the Lord all you nations! Bless the Lord all you angels! Bless the Lord all you birds; see creations, beasts of the field, moon, sun and stars! Let everything and everyone bless the Lord!"

So, if you find that your heart is sluggish toward God, take a moment to remind yourself (like David) of all of God's grace in your life.

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