“I was pushed hard, so that I was falling.” Psalm 118:13-14

It’s all too easy to expect that the Christian life should be plain sailing. When our cosy world is rocked we fall without a fight. This psalmist knew what it was like to be really pushed hard until he began to fall.

That’s when God helped him. Why? Because no-one but God can get the glory when it’s a lost cause! When we have come to the end of ourselves that is when God can, and will be our strength, our might and will become our salvation.

Salvation is new birth and more. It is God’s intervention in our lives at every point where we cannot help ourselves, whether it be internal battles with sin or external circumstances in the world, or spiritual opposition.

So why wait until we are falling until we reach out? The life of faith is more than belief: it is complete, continuing dependence on our only help, our Saviour.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

What’s the purpose of going through the weekly ritual? Is it not solely for the purpose of pleasing the God who we claim to worship? If not, then we might as well craft our Sunday services to please ourselves: some nice upbeat music, something simple for the children and a sermon that encourages without demanding any response.

But, if Church is solely to please almighty God and to do service to Him then all we do is not to be judged by what pleases us, but by what we believe will be acceptable in His sight. The Psalmist in Psalm 19 prays this prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.” Can we honestly pray this as we come together?

Our singing, then must be to honour Him, not to excite our emotions. Our preaching must be preaching that transforms the mind and induces acceptable service – mind reaching heart, which in turn responds to the command with obedience.

The question I ask is simply this: Can you honestly say that this characterises your worship, your church? If not, and if we are truly seeking to please Him, then we must repent of our attitudes and inaction and once more seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.