When Should I Worship God? Always!

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. - Job 1:20 KJV

Throughout our life, there will be good times, bad times and sad times. We cannot avoid these times because they are a part of life. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for everything under the sun. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

As children of God, we are not exempt from hardships, sufferings and Satan attacks. When you look at the life of Job, we see that Job experienced all of that. Scripture tells us that Job was a righteous man, blameless – a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. Job had everything anyone could ever want. Then one day, his whole world changed. He lost all that he had except his wife.

When Job received the news of his loss, scripture tells us, Job did not question God, Job did not curse God, but instead worshipped God. What?! Who does that? Those who know their God; those who have put their trust in God.  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. Job said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord – Job 1:21.

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly, Job 1:22. There is an old saying, when it rains it pours. There were even more tests that Job would face. His body was inflicted with sickness and not only that, the one whom he expected to be a support to him, gave him some really bad advice. His wife said to him, Are you still trying to be godly when God has done all this to you? Curse him and die - Job 2:9 TLB. We should not be quick to judge Job’s wife. While we may not say, curse God and die, there are those of us when we faced hardship, we questioned God and some even turn away from God.

Here, yet again, Job maintained his integrity. You are speaking nonsense like some depraved (foolish) woman. Are we to accept the good that comes from God, but not accept the bad? Throughout all of this, Job did not sin with his mouth; he would not curse God as the Accuser predicted – Job 2:10 VOICE. I do not know for you, but when I meditate on what Job went through and his response, it causes me to examine myself. When things are not going my way or there are losses of things or people in my life, what would my response be. Would I like Job worship God, or would I curse with my mouth and sin against God?

My question to us, are we committed to God because of who He is or because of what we can receive from Him? Loss is never easy, but one thing we need to make sure of, is that our heart is in the right place and that God is number one in our lives. We need to ensure that we are committed to God, no matter what. In the good times, worship Him and even more so, when we face hard times, let’s get on our face and worship God. 

The Lord Is With You

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Genesis 39:2

Joseph received dreams from the Lord of what was to come; that his family would bow down to him. His dreams came to passed, but Joseph went through so many tests and trials before his dreams became a reality. When you read the words, ‘and the Lord was with Joseph’ or you hear the words, ‘the Lord s with you’ one would tend to feel like, great, nothing bad will happen to me.

However, we see in the life of Joseph that he had some terrible things happened to him. So, the question is, if the Lord was with Joseph, why did Joseph experience all that he did? One would think, God would deliver Joseph out of all his troubles, but instead God allowed Joseph to go through the many challenges that he faced.

God being with us does not mean we will not face challenges, but we must know if God allows it, there is a greater purpose why He did. We read that though Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house, God was with him and blessed everything he did. Potiphar noticed that everything Joseph did prospered and therefore He entrusted everything he had to Joseph. The Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake, vs. 5. When the Lord is with you, you will receive favor even in adverse situations. He would even cause the company that you work for or those around you to prosper, because God placed you there.

Know this, wherever God has planted you, He will bless you. Know that when God places you somewhere, it’s not just about you but also for those around you. Are you in a place you do not want to be? Instead of being disgruntle about it, ask God what the purpose for you is being there. Ask Him to bless the work of your hands, like He did Joseph. Humble yourself and submit under the mighty hand of God. Know that He is with you! He will prosper you and bring you through!

Change Your Attitude

“’Ah, LORD God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘To all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” - Jeremiah 1:6–7 ESV

Over and over, Jeremiah faced situations that he personally did not desire or seek. He was called to deliver messages for God that he knew would be unpopular and did not necessarily reflect his personal views. Even before speaking, he knew he would be criticized. We sense his reluctance and lack of enthusiasm for many assignments.

But God had given him the attitude he was to embrace. Personally, he might have felt unqualified for some assignments. He might have felt he was the wrong person, and others could do the job better. God simply told Jeremiah that he had the wrong focus…wrong attitude

Instead of looking at his personal experiences, desires, and abilities, he was to focus on God. Everywhere he went, Jeremiah was His representative. His only challenge was to hear God clearly and do the things He called him to do. His only job was to deliver the messages God asked him to deliver and to remain faithful to his assignments. What’s so hard in that? What training or degree necessary?

Reflection: What has God told you to do that you are reluctant to start?

In many ways, we might feel the same way perhaps reluctant, unqualified, and overwhelmed by our challenges and the size of our opposition. We may not really know what to do. We are aware of our weaknesses, sometimes too aware. This is why we need to stay sensitive to God and in tune with His Spirit so that we can be bold to fulfill every assignment He gives and always trust completely in Him.

Father, help us to be willing, faithful servants. Thank You for providing all that we need to be obedient in our assignments. We trust in You. In Jesus’ Name...Amen.