"Jerusalem... to which the tribes go up; even the tribes of the Lord." Psalm 122:3-4 NASB1995)
Worship is uphill for everyone.
It may not mean much to us as modern pilgrims. When we approach Jerusalem, we take air-conditioned tour buses and barely notice the 12,000 foot elevation change from every direction. We ride wide, paved and safe roads now, but for thousands of years prior, people hiked with their donkeys and sheep and children in tow. Going to Temple to worship three times a year took a physical toll on the person making the trek.
I think of those paths up to God’s presence and songs of ascent on the breezes. Ancient tunes make the trip more pleasant but also prepared the heart of the believer. This was much more than the commute to the market or to visit with in. These folks were going up to meet with the Most High. They were bringing sacrifices to atone for sin. They were thanking their Maker for another harvest and petitioning Him for the year to come. The uphill journey provided hours of individual reflection. Little else could be said as they picked their way through the steepest passes.
Worship is still uphill for us today. We must throw off our week, our worries, our doubt and disagreements. We may wade through personal pain and suffocating grief to get to the sanctuary itself. We, too, face our own shortcomings as we make our way to church week Sunday: sinners in need of grace again.
Be assured; any effort exerted is worth it. Worship remakes us. Coming together to sing reminds us of the glory and grace of God. Worship reawakens our hearts to the coming reality of eternity and the audacity of our own redemption. Worship readjusts the ever-slumping posture of our human hearts. Worship rights us for another week in the world and we require the resuscitation.
“God ordained for us to gather for worship because He nows us and weaknesses of our fickle, grumbling and easily distracted hearts. He knows how soon we forget the depth of our need as sinners and the expansiveness of His provisions in Jesus Christ. He knows that little lies can deceive us and little obstacles can discourage us. He knows tat self-righteousness still has the power to delude us. So in grace He calls us to gather and consider glory one again, to be excited once again, and to be rescued once again. It’s not only that corporate worship reminds us God’s grace. Corporate worship itself is a gift of grace. Run with celebration to its rescue any time it is available to you.”
Paul David Tripp
What can I tell you for sure? Making the effort to climb up to worship is always, always worth it. We will not regret giving God what He is due. Somehow, ion our exertions He never fails to meet us and breath life back into these bones.
"And may people will come and say, "Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths." (Isaac 2:3 NASB1995)
Lord, we are so grateful that the doors of Your house have been propped open to us; sinners and strangers. Through Your love and shed blood, You invite us in as family. Please also give us the stamina to keep climbing to worship week after week. May the power of Your presence pull us through every earthly obstacle: physical, emotional or otherwise. Convince our hearts today: time in Your sanctuary is always worth the effort. May we Iive and move convinced of this truth. Amen.