Seeking a feeling is not worship

From Rick Warren's "Daily Hope" devotional.

"I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him. But he knows where I am going." Job 23:7-10 (NLT)

Will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when you have no sense of his presence or visible evidence of his work in your life?

The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshiped. Wrong! In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship.

This reminds me a bit of the Craig Detweiler film in the last entry, Do You See?  Sometimes we go to church expecting to receive some sort of out-of-body experience like what we hear about on radio shows or what we see on televangelists' shows.  I think we go expecting to be wowed, like in a zoo or with a Vegas slot machine, like Craig mentioned.  We expect to be given a show and get a "feeling," but we don't expect Jesus to come out of His cage.  Because if He does, we might get "attacked."  We just want to get the show, give the "Jesus monkey" a peanut and go home.  We've had our "experience" for the week; time to get back to life.  We don't want to become committed or anything.  Then we won't be able to feel OK saying, "No," or "I don't really agree" or "I don't like that."

Maybe if we want to get "feelings" or have "experiences," what we need to do is reach out.  How about this: we need to "help broken people heal." Or give "hurting people...hope."  Or get "hungry people...fed."  Then I think we can experience something and have a feeling.  We'll get a feeling every time because we're putting ourselves out there and allowing our hearts to be broken and our bodies to be put to the test.  We have to feel something because we're putting every part of us in that vulnerable place--in that uncomfortable place we haven't been before, or at least very often.

We do reach out.  "Help broken people heal."

I think we help people heal during a Healing Service.  Let's open it up IN the community, not just TO the community.

"Give hurting people hope."

Diaper Derby, Undie Sunday, Let It Shine Sunday, Hats Off Sunday, Sock It to Me Sunday, Take a Note, Souper Bowl (goes below, too). 

"Feed hungry people."

Angel Food Ministries reaches out to our community.  But do we make that opportunity openly accessible to everyone in our community? Whoa...that could really tax us. It really might.

PALS is this example.  Don really devotes himself to this.  I think it's where Jesus stands every single week as people of all walks of life pick up a knife and fork, plate and napkin.  I know Don never leaves PALS feeling empty. Tired, maybe.  But never empty or lacking in the "feeling" or "experience" department.

Let's stop expecting a feeling IN corporate worship.  Let's welcome the feeling we want to feel by going out and doing something that guarantees us a feeling IN ministry to our community and our world. 

Peace,
Jonas