Hardships are for Worship

Church Family:
Each day brings hardships of its own. Each day’s struggles make it difficult to remember the primary reason that God created you. You were created to respond to every hardship in a way that shows off the glory of God. Or you could also say, you were created to respond to all of life as worship unto God. Now you may be saying, blah blah blah Steve, you don't understand what I am going through. You are right, I don't, but God does and He says, "Yes, you go through horribly difficult situations, but I your Creator God knows intimately that situation and you. Trust Me, I have made a covenant with you and I will never leave you nor forsake you in that hardship, glorify me in it."

Here we are in Nehemiah 7 and 8. God’s people had been confronted daily for hundreds of years with great hardships and sufferings. Finally, and by God's mercy alone, the walls around Jerusalem were completed and the city was secure. God’s people were protected from the enemies that surrounded them. What is the first thing that Nehemiah leads them to do? He leads them to do what God had created them to do, worship Him together (Neh. 7:1-3, 8:1-12). In the midst of hundreds of years of physical attacks on them, Nehemiah led God’s people to give back to God the honor and glory that He deserved. You may think, if Israel had been exiled and Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed why honor the God who let this happen? Well, in short, God’s people broke the covenant with God (Deut. 7). God had promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The covenant said that if God’s people welcomed the gods of other nations “the anger of the Lord would be kindled and He would destroy them, His own people” (Deut. 7:3-4). So, what did God do? Destroy them? No! He poured out His mercy on His people even in their disobedience. You see, God’s mercy is tied to His covenant. God’s mercy is a product of His sovereignty. God can give mercy to anyone He chooses and Nehemiah knew that it was only by God’s mercy that God’s people were alive and together under the covenant promises of God and so they worshipped the God of mercy in their hardships.

Church, no matter what you are going through, you are the recipient of God's mercy. When you received salvation, you entered into a covenant relationship with God. This covenant is not between you and God alone. It is between Jesus and the Father and you are part of it because you are one with Christ. Jesus is your guarantee that this covenant will never be broken with you. God may show mercy to anyone but He always shows mercy to those who are in covenant with Him. So remember, no matter what comes against you in the form of today’s struggles, worship the God of the eternal covenant knowing that He has your best interests and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need because God has promised you (Heb. 4:16).

See you Sunday, worshipping the God of mercy: Steve