Dover Assembly of God
We're going to finish up this series on worship in a different vein. I think that up to now, most of what we talked about worship was predicated on our lives being mostly okay.
It’s easy to understand why we worship, to whom we worship, why we raise our hands, clap, bow before God, worship in spirit and truth when things are going okay. And most of the times, it is pretty easy to do. We are able to put aside our weekly routine and focus on God.
But what happens when our lives aren’t good and we’re not okay? What happens to our worship when things seem to be falling apart and we are in the middle of the fire?
What about when tragedy hits? How easy is it then to worship? Do we really want to worship? Will worship really help?
I want to differentiate between a real tragedy and hard times and things that are inconvenient.
~ Getting the flu is inconvenient.
~ Car breaking down is inconvenient.
~ Having a minor fender-bender is inconvenient.
I’m talking about life changing tragedy.
~ You get a terminal diagnosis.
~ Your child has been admitted to Children’s Hospital for a serious issue.
~ Your house burns down and you lose everything.
~ Someone close to you dies unexpectantly.
These are the times when our natural reaction might be to NOT want to worship.
What does God have to say about these hard times?
Think of someone you know who has experienced a real tragedy and through it all, they were still able to keep their faith.
There are some of you here today. You’ve been through the wringer and you came out with your faith intact. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.
I’m sure there were times of doubt and pain.
Do you think that being able to worship God even in their pain was most of the reason they kept their faith?
Let’s look at David’s life. Going back to his best known sin, with Bathsheba. You know the story. But what happens after everything is revealed?
2 Samuel 12:13-14 NLT
I don’t want to get into God’s punishment coming on the baby, but I want to look at David’s response to the pain.
2 Samuel 12:16-18 NLT
We see David’s anguish and I’m sure we can all identify to a point with how he is feeling.
How many of us know young parents who have experienced SIDS? Miscarriages?
Circumcision would have been performed on the 8th day and he didn’t even make it to that.
They had the baby for a week. Enough to bond with him/her (we don’t know). And David spent that week pleading with God, but God said no.
How often have we prayed for safe travels for our kids and yet they have accidents? We pray for miracles and God doesn’t come through like we want? Can you get a small picture of what David is experiencing?
I have not been through the death of my children. But I can only imagine the pain and heartache that come with it. It would be the worst for me, I think. And after that, you might not even want to worship at all.
David likely had a similar feeling, but what amazes me is how David responds. How would we respond?
2 Samuel 12:19-20 NLT
He wasn’t cold-hearted. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the baby-we just saw how he pleaded with God. He knew the only person to help him through this hard time, this tragedy, was God.
How would we respond in this same situation? It’s at that point that we are going to be faced with a choice.
God’s Holy Spirit is pulling us towards him. God is telling us to come to him, and trust Him. Even in your pain and hardship, even when you don’t feel like it. Let God be God to you.
And at the same time, the enemy is pulling us away. Telling us to blame God, to not trust God. Knowing that the situation won’t change, what will we do.
For David, the baby wasn’t coming back, we see David say that very thing.
2 Samuel 12:20-23 NLT
After he spent time in worship, God was able to begin the healing process in David. Life goes on after tragedy, and the only one to really help us cope with that is God.
When real tragedy hits, there is little or nothing that we as believers can say to help. Sometimes it’s just better to make yourself available, but not offer any advice, because, many if not most times, there is no stock or pat answer that any of us can give.
In times like these we need to just maybe shut up, because when we try to explain it away or try to excuse God in the situation, you are denying that person the one thing that can actually help them-time alone with God.
Let God be God to them.
We are not God. Nothing is worse than a well-meaning Christian telling us it’s part of God’s plan, or God needed another angel, or worse, that we must have sinned or stepped out of God’s will, or that if we had enough faith, this might not have happened.
People experiencing tragedy need time alone with God. Even if it’s to vent to God, or cry before God, or maybe take time to worship him.
When David heard the news, he didn’t dance into the tabernacle. He most likely didn’t sing upbeat songs. I’m sure he was still mourning, still feeling the pain, but he chose to focus on God.
We know that every aspect of a Christian’s life is worship -- Giving, serving, witnessing, praying-all acts of worship.
But we have been focusing these past few weeks on the music aspect of worship. Why does music and especially story-songs and love songs affect people so much? Why do certain songs really resonate with people?
Because the lyrics express a feeling or emotions that you have and now someone else feels the same way. “They get it!”
Another reason is those lyrics express something that you couldn’t get a handle on. Someone else put your feelings into words and it connects.
Worshipping God through music allows us to put into words things we may not be able to express ourselves because of the pain.
You don’t want to worship. You may feel that nobody understands. But some of the songs we sing might be exactly what connects with you at that time.
Someone else’s word are able to capture the feelings you have deep inside. And now you can express those to God.
David’s worship didn’t change the situation. He still lost his baby. But I think he needed God to take away the hurt and the only way he knew to do that was to worship.
We’ve mentioned before, that when we sing in worship, the bad morning we’ve had fades away.
Don’t we feel the same way when tragedy hits? That God is the only one able to take away the pain? People can be there if needed, but we can never take away the pain. Only God can do that.
Maybe the worship lyrics allow you to say to God, things that couldn’t come to your mind at the time. But now those songs are the ones I needed.
And through that worship, God is able to help you in your pain.
Last week we ended the sermon with “It is Well." The author had to put into music and lyrics, exactly what he was feeling in his heart.
Maybe he wrote that, not feeling that way at the time, but believing that as he sang it, God would minister to him and allow those words to become truth to him.
Let's look at the first verse . . .
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It seems that God had to get him to this point.-He didn’t say it right off the bat, but that through time spent with God and prayer, he was finally able to say, It Is Well.
And this lesson isn’t about me making you worship. It’s not me telling you “what you need to do now is thank God for your pain and worship him. Tell him that you appreciate the pain and that you know he has a plan and your suffering is what is best for you.”
That’s not what I am saying. I’m saying that God is the only one to help you in your tragedy and pain.
And if you really want help, spending time with God is the only way to get it.