1 Chronicles 16:8-10 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

One distinctive of David was that he wanted others to know of what God had done for him and for the nation. This wasn’t limited to his immediate circle, but to all the nations. Those who think “world missions” is limited to the New Testament are sadly mistaken! David’s desire was that the whole world, everyone, know how wonderful God was and rejoice to be obedient to Him. David’s particular tool for doing that was the Psalms he wrote, and they have indeed been used mightily to that end. Each of us is given different tools. Even if they are perhaps similar, such as musical gifts, there will always be differences in particular style and expression. The point is, the goal is always the same, of people knowing God and rejoicing in Him. When we ourselves are rejoicing it feels easy to do that, but when we aren’t, it can seem much more difficult. The things is, God doesn’t change. It is only by shifting our focus off of ourselves and onto Him in all His goodness and holiness that we can rejoice even in the middle of circumstances that seem much less than desirable to us. When Paul ran into such a situation, God’s answer was fairly blunt: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) When we have tasted that grace fully, we will indeed want to share it with the whole world.

I am in the middle of training in this area. Emotions, and temporal things in general, are very unreliable, but as well as I know that, I still tend to rely on them. God is eternal, and He has eternity prepared for me. I need to seek His face always, and allow Him to pour His grace through me, and specifically through my weaknesses. I’ve got plenty of those! I tend to be proud of hearing from God so freely, and this morning was a strong reminder that it’s all grace, and not something I’m “due,” or have earned in any way. Feeling like I had run into a “dead zone,” with “no bars on my spiritual phone,” was downright frightening. I indeed need to rest, relax, and rejoice in my Lord, with no trace of pride or entitlement, so that He will be free to use me however He likes, on His schedule for His glory.

Father, thank You for this experience. It’s one of the most unpleasant things I’ve encountered in a long time! I pray that I would learn from it what You are trying to teach me. Even as You showed Jeremiah in the middle of horrible circumstances, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Thank You. Praise God!