Life’s noises are plentiful and often painful. One way to drown them out, or at least deal with them in the best way, is to praise. I am not talking about singing. I am not talking about listening to a CD, a choir, or a band leader. I am  talking about entering into a time of intimate worship with your Creator, your heavenly Father. Sometimes we sing as if He were not in the room, singing about Him and not to Him. Worship is a heart-and-mind exercise. It is a fixation on God. It is giving Him enough attention that makes it obvious that there is nothing we want more than Him. It is like someone who is thirsty in a desert and will do anything to be in the presence of a drink of water. To just look at the water and observe the water or watch other people drinking the water sounds ridiculous. However, we often go through the motions of singing.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism,1 written in the 1640s by Englishmen and Scots, was used to educate laymen in matters of doctrine and belief. The catechism is considered by many Protestants to be the greatest doctrinal statement that resulted from the English Reformation. The first question is about our purpose, back to the “what-is-my-purpose” and “how-to-act-upon-that” questions:
Q1: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Get alone and plan for 15 minutes of worship.
- Listen to the song “As the Deer” by Matt Gilman, or watch and worship on You Tube.
- Read and meditate upon Psalm 42:1–4; John 4:23–24; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 84:2.
- Listen to the song again. This time, don’t just sing it; set your heart on a pilgrimage. Get hungry. Worship your Savior. Make it your prayer. Close your eyes if you need to, and shut out the distractions.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism’s2 second question deals with how to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Obviously, worship as we just discussed, is a primary way.
Q2: What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?
A: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.
It is incredible to me that God used forty different men over a period of 1500 years (1400 BC to AD 90) to write the Bible. These were ordinary men. David was a shepherd. Matthew was a tax collector, John and Peter were fisherman, and Luke was a doctor. God did not use the leading intellectual of the day to speak through, but rather common people. The Bible is sixty-six books, thirty-nine Old Testament and twenty-seven New Testament books. John Wycliffe was key in getting the Bible translated in 1382 and William Tyndale did likewise in 1525–1535. The King James Version we now read was published in 1611.
The Bible was given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17). All scripture is of divine inspiration. Paul talked of receiving his words from the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). Even Jesus quoted and thereby validated the Old Testament books (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; 5:17–18; 10:15; 12:40–41; 22:29; Luke 24:44).
God reveals Himself in many ways. He is creative. But His primary way is through His Word. It is God’s Word, His mouthpiece. It is authoritative. It teaches, it convicts, and it leads us down paths of right living. It is a light in a dark world and lights our paths forward. It is powerful. It is life changing, and it has influenced more people than any other book. It has stood strong for thousands of years. It defeats spiritual forces. I have found that worship and reading and studying His Word is the best way to get to know Him—when mixed with prayer.
You will also get to know God through sufferings and trials. He will speak to you in your sufferings as much as He does in your blessings. God does bless and will bless. I do a detailed study on blessing in Ease the Squeeze, but I sure don’t think that the following verses would sell too well today in our Western World. Jesus commented on Paul’s conversion and upcoming Christian life: “I will show him how much he will suffer for my name.”3 Paul wrote to Timothy “that he must endure hardship and suffering, even with chains.”4 Some people have titles bestowed upon themselves and advertise them prominently—bishop, cardinal, reverend, MBA, doctor. But when you read 2 Timothy 2, Paul was bestowing upon himself the title of “prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Paul, Peter and others call themselves “bondservant of Jesus Christ.” Wow, you don’t see that on too many business cards these days. Get to know Him!
A watered down, easy gospel is getting easier and easier to find. Find a church that preaches the Word in its entirety. We must hear the good news, the self-help, the power of God, but we must hear of salvation, death, sin, suffering, repentance, and God’s judgment. Be sure that the whole gospel is being taught.
Resources that will help you:
Many tools to help you are available in A Lasting Legacy.
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