Make A Difference To One

By Pat

A friend of mine is currently going through a very difficult time in his life. His burdens are heavy, his responsibilites are great, and his once strong faith has faded. His joy is gone. He is finding himself in a place where each of us at some point has been. He is in a spiritual drought. He is presently "going through the motions."

What do we do at these times? Giving up on God would be the easy thing-but God never said life would be easy, did He? In fact, if you look at the Biblical heroes, you see that each of them became mightier in God's kingdom through trial and adversity.

Psalm 100:2 tells us to "worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs," and verse 4 says to "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." But how do we worship with gladness and sing joyfully when our hearts feel so full of darkness, worry and despair? That's when we feel ourselves going through the motions. We praise, we worship, but our hearts aren't really in it. It's at those times we need to cling desperately to our life-preserver, Jesus, and His promise of hope.