Posts
I have found myself burdened lately in observing how few young people and families are present in the mid-week meetings. It seems like almost everywhere I go, the Sunday services/meetings are well attended by a range of ages, but the gatherings during the week contain a majority of older adults who come faithfully, with only sparse attendance by young people or families with children at home. From one who has been a full-time student while also working part-time, and who is now a mother of small children, I understand something of just how difficult it can be to be at a mid-weekly Bible study or prayer meeting. In an age where we have the choice to be involved in so many excellent activities, where it is the popular and expected thing to be busy ALL THE TIME, making a commitment to be at a mid-week gathering of God’s people can seem burdensome and unrewarding. There is an ever-increasing amount of homework, school activities, extra-curricular demands and fun opportunities that make us feel we are missing out on them or we may affect our educational future (or that of our children) by not participating. Sometimes we are just plain TIRED!! (especially if you are going to school while working, or if you are a mother of young children).
As I was meditating on this phenomenon, I opened my Bible to read a few verses, and the page fell open to Psalm 84 (not where I was planning to stop, but the Lord knew!). This is what He showed me:
Psalm 84
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
The Lord’s dwelling place is in the midst of His people. When we gather together as believers, He is present in a special way that is beyond how He is with us individually. I think it’s beautiful that the psalmist say the gathering of the Lord’s people is lovely. I also have to ask, Does my soul FAINT with desire to be with God’s people? And I was surprised to realize that the psalmist connects my personal desire for God with a desire to be with His people! Clearly God means for His people to be together regularly (Hebrews
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah
Thank you Lord for this thought! A lot of times when I go to a meeting, I am the only one with small children there, and I feel about as small as the sparrow or swallow (especially when my kids are having a difficult day, or they are making kid-noises, or they are simply not as quiet as the adults in the room!). But the Lord says there is “a place near [His] altar” for me and my children! How incredible, and encouraging this is! The Lord wants me to be there with His people, and to have my children there! And the result of my “dwelling” in His house (in other words, being there “whenever the door is open” is that I will be ever praising Him. I so easily get discouraged, depressed and “unjoyful”, but the psalmist says that a cure for that is to be in His presence, with His people. Most of the time, I find that when I make the effort to get to a mid-week gathering, the Lord blesses me with joy.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the
As a mom of little ones, and often before when I was a full-time student with a part-time job on the side, I would feel so weak and tired. It was the LAST thing I wanted to do to go to Bible study or prayer meeting – didn’t it make more sense to stay home and rest, or finish my never-finished homework? How will setting aside my work and my tiredness to go out and be at a meeting give me MORE STRENGTH?? But amazingly, I have found it to be true. When I show up, God shows up for me. He is no man’s debtor, and He has promised to “honor those who honor me”. If we are doing our best and we take time out from our work or rest to be with Him and His people, He will refresh our spirits like the rains that fill the valley with pools. We WILL go from strength to strength – I have seen it happen in my own life when I choose to put Him and His will FIRST. It is hard to trust Him with this, and I often forget and choose to stay home, but He has always been faithful to me in response to my little bit of faithfulness to Him (and often in spite of my faithlessness!). My heart needs to be set on pilgrimage – this world, its jobs, opportunities, education, and entertainment are all temporary, but God’s people and the time I spend with them is an ETERNAL investment worth missing out on a few fun activities, or getting a B instead of an A on my paper, or not playing a sport so I can be at the mid-week gatherings. An eternal perspective helps me to remember that though I miss out on some things that others are enjoying, the LORD will give an eternal reward, and even bless us here on earth too!
Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
How blessed we are to live in a country where we can worship freely! Most of us live in places where, if we so choose, we can meet with other believers on a DAILY basis for mutual encouragement and fellowship. Other believers around the world risk their lives for the opportunity to meet once a week or once a month! One day, one hour a week in the Lord’s dwelling place – with His people – is worth a thousand at home, or on the playing field, or at the movies, or at the mall. There is ALWAYS a cost involved in being at the mid-week meetings, whether you are old or young – it will not get easier when this stage of your life passes, because our Enemy doesn’t rest and is seeking those he can devour. The safest place for a sheep is with the Shepherd, surrounded by other sheep – it’s harder to attack a group than in individual! The Lord God is our sun and shield and HE bestows favor and honor – not our good grades or our nice houses or our well-educated children. It all comes from Him. He promises to withhold “no good thing” from those whose walk is blameless. That doesn’t mean we won’t suffer for His sake – we will very probably not be the best in our class, our children may not graduate ‘summa cum laude’, we will miss out on some fun stuff, but THE LORD IS ABLE TO MAKE IT WELL. And because He delights to bless us, I have often seen that those who do make the sacrifices to be with His people whenever they can, are often incredibly successful here on earth, not to mention the eternal rewards they will reap.
These were some of the thoughts the Lord gave me as I meditated on the psalm. I am by no means prefect, nor do I always get out to every Bible study or prayer group, and often I am not there with the right attitude. On the other hand, I want to encourage the many young people and young families I know to MAKE THE EFFORT to get to your local gathering of believers more often than just Sunday morning! I am already seeing the blessing it brings in the lives of my little ones, and of course in my own life as well. I know there are excellent reasons why some cannot make the mid-week meetings at their particular gathering because of work schedules, class schedules, etc., and I don’t want to guilt those people who truly want to be at their local church but cannot. However, I also know that so often my only reason for not showing up to the mid-week meetings is my own tiredness, or laziness, or apathy. It doesn’t matter WHO else is going to be there, the LORD has promised to be present when we gather together with other believers to His name, and that should be enough for me. I hope that if you are not currently committed to attending at least one mid-week gathering at your local fellowship, this will encourage you to make it a TOP PRIORITY to be with God’s people as often as you can. “But encourage one another DAILY, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:12). Christians who choose to absent themselves from God’s family gatherings put themselves at the mercy of the Enemy’s attacks, with no support group. The LORD meant for us to spend time together regularly, that’s why He gave us a spiritual FAMILY!
Solo deo gloria
