Get Your Fire Back With the Psalms!预览

I've had the privilege of worshiping with other followers of Jesus across America, Mexico, Africa, and Asia. During those experiences internationally, I've learned that worship is not dependent on what we think it's dependent on in America.

Since childhood, I've witnessed "worship wars" between followers of Jesus. We've started churches, split churches, killed churches, changed churches, and lost friends over our preferences in worship: loud music or quiet music, hymns or modern worship songs, piano and organ or drums, guitars, and loops.

But worship doesn't have to do with those potentially divisive things. When the focus is on those things, worship is about us, not God. Worship is about wonder, and wonder enables us to flourish with God.

King David was full of wonder. In Psalm 139, he wrote these words.

"How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you."

Our worship is often lacking because our wonder is waning.

In this passage, I see something present in David but absent in me.

David considered God's thoughts to be precious. They were valuable; David wanted to know them. He had a curiosity that I lost during my season of burnout and bitterness.

I have a hunch. If you're struggling with passion, you're also struggling to stay curious. Our struggle with wonder often includes a lack of curiosity.

When you recognize how much you don't know, don't understand, and yet want to explore that unknown, that curiosity sets you up for a life of wonder, a moment of awe.

We live in a world where we can get anything instantly via our devices. These tools offer us endless knowledge, access to real-time news, and a promise of solving every problem.

But an AI assistant like Siri or Alexa won't tell you God's thoughts. A piece of software won't help you understand God's ways. Understanding God requires you to pursue life with God. If this series has shown you that your life with God is not as flourishing as you wish, maybe it's time to become curious again. How can you get curious again about God's thoughts? How can you bring freshness to your prayers and time in the Bible?

The fourth thing you need to know about getting your fire back is that sometimes, to get back what you once had, you may need to go back and do what you once did. My wife and I have been married for 16 years. There have been seasons when our marriage was strong and seasons when it was weaker. There were times when the passion burned hot and times when our vows carried us through difficult days.

Repeatedly, we have discovered that sustaining the little habits that keep the fire going is hard. It takes intentionality to maintain our passion for each other. For example, scheduling babysitters, blocking off the calendar, and planning date nights takes work. Listening to each other share takes effort after an exhausting day. It takes discipline to look for little ways to serve the other person. But those things came naturally in the beginning when the fire we had for each other was a burning inferno. When we go back and do what we once did for each other, it's incredible the difference little acts of love and kindness make.

Like John encouraged the church in Ephesus, it might be time for you to go back and do the things you did when you first became a follower of Jesus to regain the fire you had then.

ACTION STEP: How can you begin again what you stopped doing a while ago? You could switch the translation of the Bible you've always read. You could explore new prayer practices from another era of church history. You could even reach out to someone whose passion or wonder you admire to learn from and be mentored by them.

Tomorrow, we'll wrap up this plan by exploring a comforting truth I know will encourage you as you seek the fire you once had. I turn to this truth when things don't happen how I want or at the speed I like.