Worship Renews Your Strength
By Rick Warren
“Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy” (Psalm 100:2 NLT).
To strengthen your faith, you must unite with others in worship. Worship is for God, but it also has benefits for you. Here are two of the biggest benefits of corporate worship: It renews your faith, and it restores your joy.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lordwill renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”(NIV).
How many times have you gotten up on a Sunday morning and said, “I am so tired; I really don’t have any energy to go to church,” but then you went to church and worshiped, and afterward you were more energized? That happens because worship renews you. It strengthens you. It strengthens your faith.
You’re not going to get your strength renewed by watching golf on tv. That’s just going to make you lazier and lazier. You get renewed by worshiping God with other believers.
As a pastor, sometimes I think of myself like the coach in the boxing movie Rocky. Rocky is out there in the fight, and he’s pouring his heart out and just getting beat to a pulp. The bell rings and he goes, “Thank God.” He comes to the corner, and the coach says, “You’re doing a good job.” The coach throws some water on him, pats him on the back, and says, “Now get back out there.”
Sometimes I feel like that’s what I’m doing on Sunday for my church. I’m telling people, “You’re doing a good job. Now get back out there. You can do this!” But that’s not me renewing people’s strength. It’s the Word of God. It’s music and praying and worshiping together with other believers.
The Bible also says in Psalm 100:2, “Worship the Lordwith gladness. Come before him, singing with joy”(NLT).
I think it ought to be fun to go to church. That may seem strange to you if it’s not how you were raised or how you felt about a certain church you’ve attended. But the Bible says to worship the Lord with gladness — not boredom, sadness, or anger, or out of duty. You should be singing for joy in church! Church should have that effect on you. Worship should renew your faith and restore your joy.
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1 NLT).
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Talk It Over
What is your general attitude about going to church? What motivates you to go to church?
If you have a complaint about the worship at your church, how do you think God wants you to respond?
Do you think it’s fun to go to church? If not, do you think it is more about the church or about you?
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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Find courage to transform yourself and impact the world around you!
“Because of our faith in him we dare to have boldness, courage, and confidence in coming to God with freedom and without fear.” (Ephesians 3:12 AP)
Everything God does in your life, He does by His grace and through your faith. So if you want God to work through you to influence those around you, start by developing a deeper trust in Him!
Pastor Rick Warren shows you how in his Daring Faith Study Kit. As you explore the 6 faith-building sessions in this DVD Bible study, you’ll learn how to:
• Find the courage to leave your comfort zone
• Make a lasting difference in the lives of others
• Use generosity to change your life
• And more!
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This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
