What To Do When You’re Not Feeling Worshipful
Psalm 40:1-3
February 16, 2014
It’s been a rough week. It was super cold outside, it snowed, the kids were sick, the car wouldn’t start, the pipes froze, the furnace couldn’t keep up with the cold. And now it’s Sunday morning and you are laying in bed, nice and cozy and comfy. The kids are still sleeping and the last thing you want to do is wrestle them up, fix breakfast and make sure they’re all on good behavior, because it’s Sunday morning and it’s time for church.
OR
It’s been a rough week, you were laid off from your job, or maybe you were fired. The bills are going to pile up and you don’t know where to turn. You’re depressed and anxious, you’re not sleeping well . . . but it’s Sunday, and it’s time to worship.
OR
You have been sick all week. It’s been the flu. Nobody really knows about it, because you don’t broadcast your life on Instagram and Facebook. But you’re feeling down. You feel tired, but physically you’re a little better, but it’s Sunhday, and it’s time to worship.
OR
You fill in the blank . . .
It’s Sunday! It’s time to worship! But, if you were to be really, really honest, you don’t feel it. You’re not in the mood to worship. You’re grumpy, you just don’t want to be here. It’s nothing against Christ, it’s nothing against the people, but you think the church would be better off without one more grump. You don’t want to snap at anyone, and you really don’t want to put on a happy face, but, it’s Sunday, so you’re just going to put on a happy face. Wear you happy mask, and pretend that all is well, even when you know and others know — not all is well.
What do you do?
You’re here for Sunday School — but you’re not feeling it.
Worship begins — you’re still not feeling it.
There’s no awe of God. No desire for Him. Nothing.
No desire to smile and feel His joy.
You really don’t want to greet anyone. You don’t want to give!
And you’re not in the mood to receive, because what if you don’t
But you’re here!
Have you ever been there? What do you do when you’re just not feeling it.
Should you go through the motions anyway? Or should you leave and try again next week?
I want to look at 1 main scripture. There are so many more that we could look at, but this is what God is leading me to talk about. In Psalm 40, David wrote ~
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Do you hear where David is at in this Psalm. In verse 2, he told us where he was at. He was in the pit of destruction, he was in the miry bog. What’s a miry bog? Picture being in a soaking wet, muddy field, it’s not fit for crops to grow. Your feet are stuck, the mud is sucking your shoes into the ground. It’s not a pleasant experience.
I was there one time. Before Debbie and I had children, we would sometimes go looking at really nice homes when they had open houses. Or we would stop and pick up one of those flyers telling you about the home and the price. One time, we stopped at a house, and I hopped out to pick up a flyer, and I didn’t realize I was about to step into a miry bog. And my foot literally sank into the mud and my shoe was stuck in the mud, so much to the point, we immediately drove to a K-mart and Debbie bought me a pair of cheap sandals to wear. So, if you’ve ever been there, you know your not in a good place.
David was not feeling the worship. Life wasn’t going as planned. Yet, something happened, something changed for David so much so that he tells us in verse 3, God put a new song in his mouth.
So what happened between feeling stuck in the mud — and singing praise to God?
The clue comes in verse 1. David tells us he did two things that we think are opposites. He waited patiently for the Lord AND he cried out to the Lord.
We could think waiting patiently for the Lord means passively hoping He will change us. That it means we stand frustrated in line at the store. Or we angrily wait while we are on hold with customer service. But the Hebrew word really means to seek with eagerness and expectancy. It’s waiting, yet doing it with an expectation that the Lord will help and respond to our cries for help.
And at the same time, as David expectantly waited for the Lord, he also cried out to the Lord. One of the beauties of David is that we see real and raw life through his heart. You see, David made his requests known to God. He told God exactly what his state of heart, spirit and mind were like. He didn’t hold back. Even though God already knows, sometimes we need to remind ourselves of what’s happening inside us. We also need to admit we aren’t self sufficient. We need God to act on our behalf to help us out of the miry bog.
So what can we do when we are where David was? How can we wait for the Lord?
On those days when you’re not feeling it, for whatever reason, first and foremost . . . admit it. Don’t deny it, admit it to yourself, admit it to God, admit it to a good friend, “I’m struggling today.” Own it, it’s yours, it’s you. And at the same time, don’t stay home, because you will miss out on an opportunity to be blessed by God.
So, when we’re stuck, look with an eagerness and expectancy to Jesus. Don’t focus on your lifeless heart — trust God to meet you where you are. Trust that Christ will be there to help you and the Spirit will be there to change you.
Take time before worship to go into a room by yourself, or sit in your pew alone, or ask someone to pray with you. Ask God to help you move into worship. Admit your lack of desire at that moment. Maybe it’s a sin issue. Confess it to God, ask God for forgiveness and trust in His promise that He will forgive you and cleanse you. Give whatever it is that is burdening you to God. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 11 ~
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Those are great words of comfort. Ask God for strength, ask for more of the Holy Spirit to be active in your heart, so that you would feel joy, praise, awe, wonder, and a deep longing for Him.
At the same time, set your heart and mind on the truth of what God is as revealed in Jesus. Focus on the truth of who Jesus is. That He is THE Son of God. He is the Messiah. That He suffered for you, and He died for your sins, so that you could stand before the throne of God. So you could have eternal life. He promises to be with us always. He never leaves us. He never fails us, He never forsakes us. He’s our constant companion. He’s our Lord of lords and King of kings.
Stop and remind yourself of God’s power and majesty!
Once you’re in worship, let down your barriers. Let your guard down. Don’t be on the defensive looking for reasons to say, “see, I should have stayed home.” But keep yourself open to receive the Spirit, to receive one another when we greet, to sing when we sing, to pray together and to engage in the message.
The change in your heart may happen in an instant, it might be at the end of worship, I don’t know when, but you need to stay the course. It’s God’s timing, it’s His perfect love flowing through into our hearts. Through it all . . . be humble.
So what will happen? God gives us this promise in Jeremiah 29 ~
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you
James adds ~ 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
When we are intentional about moving nearer to God. God will not hide from us. Instead, God wants to be seen, He wants to be known. Our hearts will be changed and we will experience Spirit-given, heart-felt worship.
I’ve been to the top of the John Hancock building in Chicago and to the top of the Sears Tower. The views are breath-taking. On a clear day, you can actually see Michigan and Indiana from the Hancock building. When you are up there, you can’t help but take pictures and “Oooooh!!!” and “Aaaaah!!!”
Now imagine you’re on vacation and you plan to go up there to catch the view and when you get to the top of the Sears Tower, you look out, and all you see is fog.
No awesome view. Just thick, gray, soupy fog.
That’s what happens when we aren’t feeling worship. The beauty and power and grace of God is right in front of us. But blocking that view is a fog of tiredness, worries, sin, or you name it.
If we just go through the motions — then it’s like we pay our money, get to the top of the building, stare at the fog, and say “Ooooh … Aaaah…” — with no feeling, no passion. Why do that?
But — if we will wait on the Lord, seek the Lord — it’s just a matter of time before we feel the wind of the Spirit starting to blow — that fog starts to break up — we see the beauty of God revealed in Jesus Christ –
And we will worship.
