When You Don't Feel Like Worshipping
Why do you worship? What is your motivation? The essence of worship is praising the God we prize in a way that gives Him delight. “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2). We dishonor God if we worship for any reason other than the joy, satisfaction and beauty to be found in Him and His great character.
But I suspect there are times when we may lose sight of this precious principle. There may be times when life and its problems seem so overwhelming that we simply do not feel like worshiping. Whether we speak of the worship assembly or times of personal or family worship – the point remains the same. There may be occasions when it seems hard to really worship as we ought. How we need to keep in mind that it is possible for the body to be engaged in some avenue of worship, but for the heart to be far away! (Matthew 15:7-9; John 4:24; 2 Timothy 3:5).
How do you think God feels when we approach Him in such a manner? We may not use these words, but imagine saying something like this to God: “God, I really don’t want to be here worshiping You right now. I don’t feel anything for You right now. I’m not moved by love for You, or overwhelmed by Your beauty. But I’m going to go through the motions of worship anyway because You have told me to in Scripture.” Remember that the mortal enemies of real worship are disinterested duty, shallow hearts, and a failure to be so properly impressed by God’s greatness that we express our love in ways that delight Him. What can we do when we don’t really feel like worshipping?
1) Look for the “spark of anticipated gladness.” As you examine your heart, praise God anyway with the hope and prayer that the outward expression of our responsibility will spark the inward delight that should characterize true worship. It only takes a spark to get a fire going!
2) We need to think of God as an oasis in the desert of life (Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1-3). And this happens in two ways. First, think of God as an oasis in the sense that you just want to jump in to the cool, refreshing water and lap it up! But there’s a second way to envision God as an oasis. Think of the pain, thirst and dryness you feel because the oasis is in the distance and you are not to it yet. We can yearn for the refreshment even before we enjoy it fully.
3) Confess the sin of joylessness. Galatians 5:22-23 and many other passages speak of the importance of joy in a Christian’s life. Only in God is there complete and lasting joy! (Psalm 16:11; 43:4; 1 John 1:4).
4) Pray for reminders through God’s providence of God’s beauty and blessings. Such joys are abundant!
5) Take steps to renew your joy. Make it a point to enjoy the fellowship of loving, faithful brethren. Serve someone you know needs help and encouragement. Consider your Bible intake and meditate upon God, His word, and His ways. Count your blessings instead of focusing on your troubles.
6) Think about hell. Yes, you read it right. Think about our gracious deliverance from the horrors of hell by the Cross of Christ. Oh, what a Savior!
By: Mike Vestal