Worship when it matters
1 Samuel 30:6, The Message
“… suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. David strengthened himself with trust in his God.”
When we least expect trouble it is imperative that we learn to make the right response. Turning to God wins every time – EVERY time!
This is the message in the account of David’s disgruntled mighty men turning against him in anger and bitterness at his leadership. These men, including David, had lost everything at the hands of the enemy and didn’t know what to do. Their eyes narrowed and their focus zeroed in on the point man, David, who got them into such a mess.
What would you do in the face of such accusation, anger and pressure?
One of my favorite parts in the movie, “Braveheart” is when William Wallace returns as a grown man to his clan in the Scottish Highlands. The people are celebrating a wedding and it includes the challenge of the “stones of strength”, or stone putting. His boyhood friend, Hamish, a brawny hulk of a man, heaves the massive stone the farthest. Then Wallace dares him with the words “Can you do that when it matters; as on the field of battle?”. Hamish takes up the challenge with Wallace on the field in front of him. Taking careful aim he thrusts the stone forward and misses Wallace by a couple feet. Wallace palms a small stone and, with practiced aim, hurls it, striking Hamish in the forehead and felling him.
Worship and prayer is easy when surrounded by like-minded brothers and sisters in a church or home but will we turn to God in worship and prayer when the going gets tough? Sometimes, when we least expect it, we are confronted with the choice of fight or flight.
David could have run for his life when he caught wind of words like “stoning”, but he stopped in his tracks and strengthened or “steeled” himself in his trust of God. He sought God in prayer and in worship and God met him and gave him the wisdom he needed to continue.
Be vigilant for the moments of weakness when you’re tempted to run, to rely on your own responses and learn the lesson of worship and prayer “when it matters”.
