If we forget that this is all about Him, if we revert to the myth that church is all about us, then we never quite enter in and we miss the whole purpose of it all. The short version of this is that we need a perspective change.
In those moments when our vision is the clearest, we quickly admit that most of our lives are spent on us and not on Him. We may even admit that most of the time we invest in corporate worship is really spent dealing with our issues and not with His. God really doesn’t mind us dealing with our issues in church, He care about every detail of our lives. However, I think He wonders when we will return to our first priority and purpose in life—loving and pleasing Him.
Has the myth of “us” stolen the promise of His presence in your local church services? Is it time for a personal and corporate perspective change to refocus the “service” on Him?
We aren’t as “cocky” we devote more attention to Him than to us during our worship services. Why? It is because we can’t march according to human maps and man-made priorities in those meetings. We have no choice but to search for and seek out the face of the God who has the habit of “moving on us” to keep us out of presumption and habitual ritual. Any commitment to finding this God who hides can create some measure of godly tension and discomfort at times.
It’s a lot like trying to find the opening in heavy, room-darkening shades in an unfamiliar hotel room in the morning. Some of those rooms can get so dark that you can’t tell what time of day it is. Sometimes you get out of bed and try to find the opening in the drapes by running your fingers along the pleats until you suddenly see a shaft of light. “Oh, there it is.”
That is what we do in our services sometimes. We don’t exactly know where the opening leading to His presence is, so we just run our hands along the pleats of the veil until we find the place where it has been freshly ripped.
Are you committed to finding the God who hides? Just how uncomfortable and stretched are you willing to become in your pursuit of His presence?
God tends to take us beyond the edge of our comfort zones to change our perspective of His presence. He will gladly disrupt the patterns of entire congregations and cities if it means He will be welcomed and served with His favorite delight in the end. It all comes back to the question, “What does a human waiter offer a divine customer?” (Add the question, “What is the human waiter prepared to sacrifice for Divinity’s pleasure?”)
What Do You Think?
Gifted waiters don’t act as if you inconvenienced them by showing up in their restaurant or in their serving section. They make you feel special, as if you are a long-lost and beloved family member who has returned for a special reunion meal.
… Can I tell you that is also what a good worship “service” is like? The Lord loves to come to services where we anticipate His every desire and whim. He delights to see us carefully seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every part of the service—whether our preset song lists, order of service, or programs are disrupted or not.
1. What do you think? Is it really possible to make God feel special, like a beloved family member being honored at a reunion meal? (HINT: See 1 Corinthian 11:23-26.)
2. What do you think? How often have you attended a worship service in which every effort was made to “seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” even if it meant changing previously made plans? Was the service significantly different from other services?
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-3 and 2 Peter 2:1-4. Where Paul commands us to seek the things above and set our affections above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God; and where Peter assures us God has already given us everything we need for success in this life.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for setting my sights on what is “low and lifted up” instead of raising them to view You, high and lifted up. I am hungry for You, and now I see that the only way to experience Your manifest presence is to wait upon You and put Your desire for true worship first. I’m determined to wait upon You and pursue You until I find You.
This devotion taken from the God Chasers Network
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