Selah: Worship in the Midst of Spiritual WarfareSample

Worship Invites Repentance

Regret is a powerful emotion that evolves from the sadness we feel about mistakes we have made. It is self-focused and leads us to deny the presence of our Savior and His strength in all of it.

Because of that, we often waver between two extremes. We run from opportunities to reflect on the past, or we get caught up reflecting on it too much.

Regret often looms larger than life in our present mindset because of the perspective we retain about our past. The key to moving forward in the freedom the Lord offers rests in our ability to recognize that our worth is not dictated by the wrongs we have committed.

Thankfully, the Lord shows us He can redeem anything when we draw our attention upward. We just have to get honest about our part without unnecessarily holding onto it.

Just because we have made mistakes does not mean we are mistakes.

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel bring us a lot of hope about many of the present circumstances we find ourselves in. Through these narratives, we witness the many ways the Lord renews our minds when we choose the humility to admit we have been wrong.

However, spiritual warfare, that opposition that comes to challenge our intimacy and authority in the Lord, would lead us to believe reconciliation with the Lord after our fall is impossible.

Spiritual warfare leads us to:

• Avoid His presence and stop praying or gathering with other believers,
• Start off prayer and times of fellowship with incessant apologies and
• Grow so self-centered we fail to acknowledge His saving grace.

Fortunately, worship leads us to elevate His Name above our emotions and repent when it’s necessary.

In a judgment from the Lord against the priests, the Israelites suffered a terrible defeat from the Philistines that destroyed Shiloh and the Tabernacle. Twenty years later, the Israelites finally began to long for the Lord again.

Thankfully, Hannah’s son, Samuel, was a man of integrity, and when the Israelites called out, Samuel was there. He instructed them that they needed to remove their idols from within their midst.

Repentance leads us to experience a change in direction. It is so much more than a word of confession because it involves action. When we make up our minds to repent, we must acknowledge those things that have interfered with our ability to trust God.

Repentance leads us to acknowledge that our God is sovereign and that He reigns above every situation that distracts or disappoints us from focusing on Him.

Once the Israelites put away their idols, Samuel told them to assemble at Mizpah. There, they would make a sacrifice to the Lord. Unfortunately, the Philistines heard about it and declared war against the Israelites.

The Israelites’ place of prayer quickly became a battleground, but neither they nor Samuel became distracted.

The Israelites asked Samuel to continue praying to the Lord on their behalf. This reveals how their repentance had transformed their relationship with Him. Rather than relying on anyone or anything that might help them, they trusted in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies alone.

When they did, the Lord thundered against the Philistines and gave the Israelites success.

With Samuel’s help, the Israelites learned to worship the Lord again. Their Ebenezer stone memorialized what the Lord had done for them. It translates into Stone of Help. The symbolism helps us remember that when we worship, our battleground becomes holy ground as we continue to focus on the Holy One.

From that point forward, it reminded them what it meant to elevate God’s sovereignty above their situation.

Reflection

1. Is there anything that you have elevated to a place of influence that the Lord should occupy alone?
2. What battleground do you need to surrender to the Lord?