Worship Through the Tears

            Life is hard, isn’t it? Disappointments hammer us ferociously while discouragement bullies us daily. Difficult people refuse to leave us alone and rejection is often a constant companion. There have been hard things in my life that have threatened to crush the very purpose for my existence. I know that you have experienced the hard in life as well although yours might look different than mine. I may not understand what you are going through today, but I do know the One who knows your pain and I am intimately acquainted with the One who hears your gut-wrenching cries. In my life, I can assure you, it has been through the deepest pain that God has harvested the most vibrant fruit.

Although we would desire that the ability to live a vibrant life would exclude painful experiences, it just isn’t so. The most beautiful gardens and the sweetest fruit in life are often found where joy and sorrow meet.

There are many challenging occurrences in life over which we are powerless. We might even believe that these unwelcome guests are mangling our ability to live a life of beauty and productivity. My friend, absolutely nothing could be further from God’s truth! If you feel that you are in a circumstance today that you are unable to do anything about, let me assure you that God wants you to do something with it. He wants you to rename that devastatingly hard place, “Joy.” You might not be able to change that place, but you can allow it to change you to be more like Jesus. He wants you to rediscover Him there.

We are not the first Christians to go through difficulties, nor will we be the last. It seems that suffering may actually be a theme in the history of Christianity through the ages.

Two thousand years ago, a man named Peter wrote a beautiful letter to a group of people who were suffering. These Christians, persecuted by the cruel and corrupt ruler Nero, had been driven from their homes and forced to live in alien lands. It is to this group of scattered, broken souls that Peter writes:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” —1 Peter 1:3–5

Peter instantly turns these broken hearts to the life-giving option of praise. Paul breaks out into a written song as his words travel from his heart to the suffering first-century Christians … and to you and me. His call to worship all that is eternally hopeful has not diminished in the two millennia since it was written.

Peter immediately turned the attention of the persecuted sojourners away from the hardships they were facing and defiantly toward all that is ours in Christ Jesus. I have found, in my challenging journey this side of heaven, the vital necessity of determining the direction of my thought life. I can either think about me, or I can think about Him. I can either ponder my disappointment, or I can linger on His hope. I can either meditate on my pain, or I can bask in His promises. I must choose what will fill the thoughts of my days and the words of my prayers. I must choose.

Peter was the cheerleader and the voice of hope to this weary group of pilgrims. Would you allow me to be your cheerleader and your voice of hope today? Would you allow me to remind you of the eternal truths found in the Bible?

Peter reminded those early Christians to travel through and even beyond the painful days of life. The first lesson that Peter presents is to worship. When your life collides with human suffering and pain, lift your hands in the air and begin to worship. Break out into a song of faith before the fleeting moment of suffering becomes your reality. Interrupt your disappointment with a melody so rich and so deep that heaven gasps in wonder.

I have learned that I am able to sing and cry at the same time—and I often do. While tears are coursing down my middle-aged cheeks, I raise my voice to the Father and worship Him. When my heart is breaking with the pain only a mother knows, I refuse to let my unique song become a dirge. I will sing in spite of pain, in the face of discouragement, and defy depression.

Peter can’t sing for me and I can’t sing for you. You must choose to bless the Lord at the worst moment of your life. You must determine that nothing short of death will deny you of the audacious ability to sing in the dark.