Recovery Devotional 354 The Springs of Worship

JMD Devotional 354 Exodus 4:28-31 The Springs of Worship

Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs with which He had charged him. Moses and Aaron went and gathered together [in Egypt] all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the Israelites, and that He had looked [in compassion] upon their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

The carnal mind cannot comprehend the worship of anything other than self and its lust objects. Suffering hardship, sickness and loss have a sobering effect; and they bring the view of oneself back to reality. Accessing your deficits and neediness brings a posture of humility. The acceptance of one’s limitations moves a person to look outside of themselves for life, help and fulfillment. The world, however, is full of false Messiahs and ill-conceived solutions, imperfect cures and pretend friends: cultivating cynicism and bitter hopelessness. Many people are angry with the God they never really trusted to come through for them. Some pews are filled with professing Christians who secretly resent divine authority, ignorant of their utter depravity and of the blessedness of God’s indwelling presence. Then there are those who cling to a belief in a perfect, powerful and present God: who apprehend salvation. To hear the Gospel, and receive it as a personal message from God, to entrust one’s life completely to Jesus Christ, to believe that He knows your needs and cares deeply about saving you unleashes spontaneous praise. Unbelief blocks our view of God; faith opens the springs of worship.

Dear God,

Knowing that You look upon me with compassion blesses my soul. Believing that Your Word is sure enables me to endure this hostile world. Faith transforms my sorrow to joy. Help me get a head start on worship; stimulate my heart to overflow with sincere appreciation.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

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