"Body Life"

 

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

 

Ever so often during our Sunday morning church service, I like to take a moment to look around and observe our wonderful people who attend. I love to be a part of this body of believers, as we stand united in song, heart, and spirit and come together worshipping our Lord God. When I stand in the midst of these precious people, I am humbled and encouraged to press on and keep moving forward. For you see, I know most of their stories. Most are a bit broken and have come in such need. They come to give the Lamb of God all that they have in gratitude, knowing that He gave each of us all that He had… by His very life. And like David we each want to seek and behold the Lord. We want to meditate on Him at home or also together as a church body.

When I look around I see our faithful elderly gentleman, a widower who misses his beautiful bride of 40 something years, standing with arms lifted high and praising the Lord. I know of his heartache and I know of his body pain. Yet there he stands, faithfully praising our God. Next to him, there is the couple whose marriage is almost at the breaking point. But, though they struggle with one another, somehow they have remembered to keep Jesus first in their lives and they have come this morning to hear a healing word from God. Then there is my dear friend who battles with cancer. She is a young mom with a husband and small children and though she hasn’t much strength, you will witness her with palms up, giving herself fully to the Lord. Her questions may still be unanswered, but she has surrendered them into His care. On any given Sunday parents sit in the sanctuary with their special needs children struggling to just survive with their own lack of sleep and energy… but they have come. They come to give the first day of the week in honor of our Sovereign Lord.

We have plenty of believers here who have been hurt by other believers or other churches. They are dealing with that hurt by giving it over to Jesus. We have our singles who are trusting God for a mate. We have overworked leaders who have come for the refreshment God’s own touch through His presence can be. We have teens who are battling with cutting themselves and living in broken homes, and others facing being jobless again. Believers who have had their sister, mother or mate just die of cancer and still they have come to be in the presence of other believers as we wait on the Lord. We have those who still battle the memories from child abuse.

But each has come to the hospital ward to seek the Great Physician who heals our body, our soul, and our spirit. And for this time, this moment… somehow each is able to lay aside their hurts, cares and fears to place their full attention and worship on the Almighty God. For like David, we can say we just want to dwell in the house of the LORD and behold His beauty. I wonder sometimes if they know what an encouragement they are to us. By their example of just showing up (even in their "stuff") they lift and encourage those around them. This is what it means in Hebrews 10:25 when it says not to forsake the assembling together because it lifts each other up! My own late husband still encourages me when I think of the time it took for us to get him ready and in his wheelchair (oxygen bottle in tow) just so he could hear our pastor preach God’s message, worship with other family of believers and give Jesus the first day of his week. This was the desire of his heart and all he had to give of himself.

You know, the Lord knows our inner thoughts. Heck, He knows them better than we know ourselves. He understands how our hearts can feel, and that sometimes on any given Sunday, we have come out more from obedience than from a deep desire to be there. Truth is that there are times we would rather curl up in bed with drapes drawn and surrender to our self indulgence by having a pity party. We can be honest about that! I’ve been there many times! I believe God is blessed when we "will" ourselves to press on and press forward with His help. We might be faithless at times but we serve One who is always faithful to us!!

Lord, we seek Your presence every day, everywhere, but on Sunday we have come to lay aside our schedules so to honor the day Jesus rose and conquered death. We give you our best, the beginning of our week. Some of us have come a bit broken, and for sure far from perfect, but we who put our trust in Your Son, Jesus and have surrendered our hearts to Him, we now walk out filled with Your glory. You Lord, shine through our own leaky vessels and that amazes us! Even when there are no words spoken, our lives say, "Behold the beauty of the LORD", because look at what the Lord has done for each of us!

 

 

May it be our desire that we be women who live in the present and are aware of the world around us. May we take notice of the blessings God gifts to each of us, and always long to hear His whispers. Shall we also pray with a more purposeful focus on God’s will? And as we stay connected in our relationship with Christ, we will become more thankful followers. Let us commit to doing this together! Close your eyes…Open your heart, let God’s Spirit empower you today.