Church For The Blues

Sunday morning Christians will gather and for many in the "new" hip and cool approach to worship , the worship leader will stand and greet the Church in a casual way . Then if the response given is not warm enough,happy enough or joyful enough he will  act as a cheerleader to get the congregation to pump up the response. Then they will launch into a usually upbeat worship song . Happy , joy , joy and don't forget to clap.

But what if the person standing right next to you has had a horrible week. Perhaps they have lost their job and are facing economic disaster. Perhaps sickness or disease has invaded their lives be it themselves or someone they love. Perhaps another has struggled with sin , they are broken. They may smile , they may muster up all they can to be shiny happy people on the outside , because are we more than conquers in the Lord and doesn't our lives have a purpose driven agenda.

Shouldn't coming to worship be a place that is real and true. We may be in Christ but at the same time we live in a fallen world that results in pain,sorrow,doubt,struggle,fear and loss. To come and gather together we need to hear the good news of the gospel. We need to hear that Christ knew pain,grief,sorrow,abandonment. He knew what it meant to be an outcast . He was tempted but did not sin.But all these things makes Him our great High Priest. We can run to , trust in and cry out to in our afflictions and blues. We can weep in the arms of Jesus.

When Jesus said that all who are weary and burdened , come and they will have rest that is a promise we need to hear more often on Sunday. It is in resting in Christ we can come honestly and truthfully . When we allow ourselves to be real before our Lord and ask Him to search our hearts , then healing can come. Not only healing but restoring hope .Preachers and worship leaders need to lift our hearts and eyes to the hope of the cross. To let people know that Christ has come to call the sick , the sinner to come home and in His love and care , He will be their joy ,peace and hope.


All one has to do is read the Psalms to realize that lament and the blues are not a unknown in the lives of those who call on the Lord. But our trust or confidence comes from not our flesh or circumstances , but in the one who is our redeemer and rock. So if you are feeling like a lament or feeling blue , be real this Sunday and cry out to God with an honest heart and don't buy what so much contemporary worship is selling.


Verse Of The Day  :    Give ear to my words, O LORD;
                                             consider my groaning.
                                      Give attention to the sound of my cry,
                                             my King and my God,
                                                   for to you do I pray.
                                                                     (Psalm 5:1-2 ESV)