When our passion for worship wanes, it usually happens in the rough and tumble moments of life. We’ll get back to church later, when things smooth out. I’ll finish my through-the-Bible reading when life is less hectic. I can’t pray today because I’m so busy and distracted.
Ironically, it is just those times when our worship can be stoked white-hot, precisely because of the distractions, diversions, and difficulties. It is there where God seems most absent that our own need for Him is greatest. At the intersection of our weakness and darkness is where His light shines brightest.
How does this work? When Job had come to his senses, and stopped defending himself, he confessed to God (Job 42:3), “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Let’s curl up with that thought for a moment.
If God can do “all things,” then. . .
There is nothing He can not do.
There is nothing He ultimately desires which can’t come to pass.
There is never a time when God wishes He were stronger.
If no plan of God’s can be thwarted. . .
There is no force greater or smarter than He.
There is no one who can outwit Him or ultimately hinder His plans.
There is never a time when God is frustrated or confused.
Unlike ourselves, who are unable to do many things, and whose plans often are derailed, God is worthy of worship precisely because His ultimate plans never are foiled.
So we can worship Him in our greatest weakness and failure. We know some things; He knows all things. We know what we want; He knows what we need. We focus on today; He inhabits eternity. We are creatures; He is Creator. We are weak; He is strong. We are sinners; He is holy. We err in our judgments; He is never wrong. We need grace; He is its eternal fountain.
Here is the simplest and yet most profound altar. Praise the Lord!
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
Ephesians 1:11