The scripture "The joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10, has taken on more meaning lately. The challenges of this year have humbled us. Expressing joy and gratitude to the Lord for how wonderful he is, and spending time praising the Lord for all that we love about him is a protective shield against the disappointment, frustration, and other challenges we face. Praising God keeps the devil far away. Joy in the Lord truly is a strength and helps us to maintain perspective in challenges. Praising our Creator, our Savior who suffered all for us, who will soon return, and who has a plan for us, is strengthening.
I heard a Christian minister, Sadhu Sundar, talk about worship. He said that to draw closer to God, we need to worship better, most of us haven't been taught how to worship. Angels sing and worship God, they are always praising, glorifying, and worshipping God. If we are to have the company of angels that is prophesied in the last days, and their help in fighting our battles; we need to learn to worship and praise God like his angels do. When we spend time in prayer, or in our holy time with the Lord, it helps to make praise a regular part of that time with the Lord. Sometimes I come to the Lord with my troubles, and by the time I am done thanking the Lord and praising him for his goodness, worry has been replaced by confidence that He will provide what is needed, as he has in the past.
What it is that you love about the Lord? Tell Him! Say it out loud. Thank Him for being all-knowing, that he created all the earth, that he has provided for us. Tell him what you love about his creations, and how they remind you of Him. Tell the Lord why you are thankful for Him.
In sharing some of the things that have helped me, I don't mean to imply that there is only one right way to worship God or find peace in Him. Each of us have unique ways that the Lord speaks to us, he knows us individually. These are some things that have helped me to feel the Lord closer. I don't say this from an armchair of comfort, with no challenges to speak of. Like many others, this year has brought challenges!
Songs of Praise
When we are in our personal prayer time with God, singing to the Lord can really help us feel His Spirit closer. The Psalms in the Bible were written to be sung to worship God. Reading or singing the Psalms can help us enter in the spirit of praise and worship. Sometimes it is meaningful to take a hymn that we know and love, and to make it our own. For example, the song, "I Stand All Amazed" is a beautiful song that helps us feel the wonder and truthfulness of Jesus' sacrifice. You can sing this as if Jesus was standing next to you and we were singing to Him. Replace the pronouns "He" with "you". For example, "I stand all amazed at the love that you offer me. Confused at the grace that so fully you proffer me. I tremble to know that for me you were crucified. That for me a sinner, you suffered, you bled and died. . . . Oh it is wonderful that you would care for me enough to die for me." The songs that are sung directly to the Lord from us feel the most worshipful. These songs are as if we were speaking to the Lord. Other Christian songs that are directed to other people, in telling them about the Lord, are good, but the most special songs are directed to the Lord, from our hearts.
Using the Scriptures as guides for prayer
Isaiah 53 is a very special chapter to read as a personal prayer to God. It is such a beautiful chapter describing Jesus and what he has done for us. Take the phrases to help you thank the Lord for what he has done for you personally.
"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
It is a good experience to make this chapter a personal prayer of gratitude and praise. Thank Jesus for the load he carried for you, for taking our chastisement, for carrying our griefs. Ask forgiveness for the times we have hid our faces from Him, or have turned to our own ways. Another good chapter to read as a prayer is Psalms 23.
Thanking God for Nature
God created the beauty of nature to remind us of his Son, and his loving sacrifice. Thanking him for the gifts in nature opens our eyes to see more of Jesus and our Heavenly Parents in nature. What do you see in nature that reminds you of their love? Is it evergreen trees? The sunlight shining? Is it rivers flowing?
When I see stalks of wheat or seeds in the fall, they remind me of Jesus. The night of the last supper, Jesus told his disciples, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24. He was talking about his sacrifice. He was the seed that died to bring forth more fruit.
Autumn's golden stems and seeds
Tell of Jesus' pure love gift.
Heaven's purest gold came down
To die, that we might live.
See how Jesus feeds birds, deer,
With tall golden stalks of fall.
Every needful thing for growth
He lovingly gives us all.
Winter storms help souls to grow,
Help us seek God much deeper.
Hail, ice, wind, and snow make us
Hunger to find Him nearer.
The snow and roses in our garden reminded me of Isaiah's words about Jesus, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18.
Roses' thorns, velvet petals
Tell of our King's crown of thorns,
Fragrant covenant unfurls
Jesus body for us torn.
Precious gems of Father's love,
Snow, like diamonds, sparkles white.
Infinite His sacrifice,
His blood can make us clean, bright.
All of nature points to God's
Redeeming love, wisdom, light.
Let me be like God's creations,
That give Him glory day and night.
