Why Church

When I was going through the toughest parts of my trial…I didn’t want to go to church. I wanted to stay in the bed and sleep away my problems. Going to church is different than going to work because I had to go to work in order to put food on the table. But no one was making me go to church. I had to decide that for myself.

I would tell the Lord that I wanted to sit this one out. I didn’t want to deal with the exposure of my hurt and pain. I didn’t want to go through the motions of church when my heart was empty and hurting. Even though I would tell God these things—I would get up and start getting ready for church. Being prompted by the Spirit, I pushed against my feelings and pressed my way to the house of God.

Even though I was troubled on the inside—God always found me in church. It may have been one song, one sentence from the preacher, one encouraging word from someone, or one prayer that I prayed over someone worse off than me. Looking back I realized that I was developing spiritual muscles of perseverance that has given me a greater love and awareness of ministry for God’s people.

I’ve always been active in the church from my earliest memories as a child. Yet having gone through great difficulty, I found the church to be a place of healing and restoration in ways I could’ve never experienced at home. It’s not that the church is full of perfect people—actually I’ve found greater hope, peace, and joy from those who’ve been through some things.

We show up every Sunday in spite of our regrets, failures, and disappointments. When we show up regardless of how we feel—we are walking in obedience to the Lord. When we show up, God gets the glory. When we show up, He entrusts us with greater faith in our spiritual gifts to minister to others.

Why church? Why not? It’s our place to gather together in God’s presence for ministry to each other.

Prayer

Dear Lord, sometimes I’m neglectful about attending church regularly. Help me to push past all the adversity in my life and show up ready to serve in your presence. Amen.

In His Service,

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