Read Genesis 8:20-21; Rom. 15:4-7; Psalm 51:5-6; Micah 7:8-9; 2 Cor. 4
As I see Noah worshipping God when he steps off of the ark, before he does anything else, I see the clear truth that God should be worshipped in every circumstance. But sometimes our hearts are not in the same place. Sometimes our circumstances and sin give us a sense of hopelessness that makes us believe we can never worship God like that. We know it is the right thing, but our heart is not in it. In the next verse in Genesis 8, God explains that “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Psalm 51 explains this heart condition by saying we were “brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin”. But it goes on to say that God goes to great lengths to redeem His children who are guilty of this sin. God aims His truth at the inward being of man. And God delights in this truth. He goes further to teach wisdom in the secret heart of man.
Romans 15 tells us that everything written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction so that we might have HOPE! What a TREASURE! And we have this treasure in jars of clay. That means that we are common and fragile vessels, so that when people see us called out of darkness and into light it is obvious that it is not by our own power. Rather, it is made known that the surpassing power belongs to God! My hope is that when sin and lies try to keep us from worshipping, we can proclaim with Micah, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him…[but] He will bring me out to the light!”
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You know, call it me being stupid, but I hadn't really thought of these past few months as me being in darkness. I realized that there was a struggle and it was very difficult just to drag myself to work every day, but I'd never considered that I was experiencing a period of darkness. (Sometimes my brain doesn't make simple connections like this. Am I the only one?) But for some reason, being able to call it what it is has actually been very encouraging to me. It helps me to be able to put a label on it. I kind of know how to approach it now that it's been categorized. It doesn't seem so ominous or insurmountable anymore.
I was also encouraged to know that even though the sin may be over and done, sometimes the consequences live on long after that. I know that sounds kind of backwards, but it's encouraging in the fact that you can still be in darkness and not be in sin, if that makes sense. Now in some areas, I know I still haven't conquered sin completely, and I'm sure that the darkness is prolonged because of that, but it's a relief to know that in other areas, I am a conqueror in Christ and no longer a slave to that particular sin. (This is a very small category.)
Now I've just got to work on worshipping God in all circumstances. Grr! Just when I think I'm getting there...
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