Taking the Time to Praise
Last week was just one of those weeks.
Do you know what I'm talking about? Last week was the kind of week where it seemed like every time I turned around there was something else that needed my attention. I have to admit that by Friday, I was pretty exhausted. So many times throughout the week I felt like giving up. I felt like all the things that I had to worry about were just going to bury me. Have you ever felt like that?
Well, that's the way I felt...until Saturday evening. That's when my perspective changed.
This past Saturday evening, I had the honor of leading an acappella worship service at Grace Pointe Church of Christ in Montgomery, Alabama. The worship service was a special event leading into their Mission Sunday. It was a great time of praise and worship in song, prayer, scripture reading, and testimony. Following the service on Saturday night was an all-night prayer vigil focusing on missionaries and their work.
As we continued the service on Saturday evening, listening to testimonies of how God had carried the burdens of his children, I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of myself. I mean, WHO AM I to be leading God's people in praise, when I haven't even taken the time to allow him to carry my burdens over the past week?
It was then and there that I decided to lay my burdens at the feet of Jesus. It was then and there that I forgot about all the things that had bothered me over the past week. It was then and there that I realized that I need to take the time to praise God for the burdens in my life, because those burdens remind me of how much I really NEED HIM! As I was sitting there listening to testimonies and prayers of God's people, I prayed a silent prayer that God would lead me into a different frame of mind for praising him.
Well, when I got back up to lead the last couple of songs, I was a different man. Gone were the worries of the past week. Gone were the concerns over trivial things.
Do you know what I'm talking about? Last week was the kind of week where it seemed like every time I turned around there was something else that needed my attention. I have to admit that by Friday, I was pretty exhausted. So many times throughout the week I felt like giving up. I felt like all the things that I had to worry about were just going to bury me. Have you ever felt like that?
Well, that's the way I felt...until Saturday evening. That's when my perspective changed.
This past Saturday evening, I had the honor of leading an acappella worship service at Grace Pointe Church of Christ in Montgomery, Alabama. The worship service was a special event leading into their Mission Sunday. It was a great time of praise and worship in song, prayer, scripture reading, and testimony. Following the service on Saturday night was an all-night prayer vigil focusing on missionaries and their work.
It was in the middle of this praise service that this verse popped into my head:
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.--Psalm 68:19
I just love the phrase,"who DAILY bears our burdens". It's not a matter of us asking him to do it, and it's not an occasional thing, either. He longs to carry our burdens as often as we have them...EVERY DAY. Now that is something that is truly worthy of our praise!As we continued the service on Saturday evening, listening to testimonies of how God had carried the burdens of his children, I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of myself. I mean, WHO AM I to be leading God's people in praise, when I haven't even taken the time to allow him to carry my burdens over the past week?
It was then and there that I decided to lay my burdens at the feet of Jesus. It was then and there that I forgot about all the things that had bothered me over the past week. It was then and there that I realized that I need to take the time to praise God for the burdens in my life, because those burdens remind me of how much I really NEED HIM! As I was sitting there listening to testimonies and prayers of God's people, I prayed a silent prayer that God would lead me into a different frame of mind for praising him.
Well, when I got back up to lead the last couple of songs, I was a different man. Gone were the worries of the past week. Gone were the concerns over trivial things.
PRAISE GOD for being the only one who can carry our burdens!
May God bless you this week!--Eric G.
