Lip Service

Smile,” said Jay as we drove to church. “You look so unhappy.” I wasn’t; I was just thinking, and I can’t do two things at once. But to make him happy, I smiled. “Not like that,” he said. “I mean a real smile.”

His comment got me thinking even more intently. Is it reasonable to expect a real smile from someone who’s being issued a command? A real smile comes from inside; it’s an expression of the heart, not of the face.

We settle for phony smiles in photographs. We’re happy when everyone cooperates at the photographer’s studio and we get at least one picture with everyone smiling. After all, we’re creating an icon of happiness, so it doesn’t have to be genuine.

But phoniness before God is unacceptable. Whether we’re happy or sad or mad, honesty is essential. God doesn’t want false expressions of worship any more than He wants false statements about people or circumstances (Mark 7:6).

Changing our facial expression is easier than changing our attitude, but true worship requires that all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength agree that God is worthy of praise. Even when our circumstances are sad, we can be grateful for God’s mercy and compassion, which are worth more than the “lip service” of a phony smile. — Julie Ackerman Link

What a God we have to worship!
What a Son we have to praise!
What a future lies before us—
Everlasting, love-filled days! —Maynard

A song in the heart puts a smile on the face.

April 26, 2009
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/04/26/devotion.aspx

Inner Turmoil

Sometimes I feel as if I’m in a bad relationship—with myself! Whenever Julie the writer starts a paragraph, Julie the editor interrupts. "No, no, no. Don’t say it that way. Why are you always so negative?" Or "What makes you think you have anything worthwhile to say?"

Before I’ve completed a single thought, my alter ego has torn it to shreds. This is a very debilitating ritual. It’s also common to the human condition.

Satan loves to distract us with criticism, and he tries to get us to use it on others as well as ourselves. We judge prematurely and try to correct others before we know what they’re saying. That’s what Eli the priest did when Hannah was crying out to God. He interrupted her prayer and accused her of being drunk (1 Sam. 1:12-14).

But God lets us pour out our hearts to Him in full honesty (Ps. 62:8). In fact, the Psalms indicate that it is when we are expressing our doubts and fears that God resolves them. Many Psalms that begin in despair end in praise (22; 42; 60; 69; 73).

When a battle is raging inside, pour out your soul before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:15). He can make sense out of what seems senseless. — Julie Ackerman Link

When turmoil seems to hold full sway
And be the ruler of the day,
I’ll open up my heart and find
That God with peace can ease my mind. —Hess

Prayer does not make God see things as we see them; it helps us see things as God sees them.

March 5, 2007
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2007/03/05/devotion.aspx

The Bible’s School Of Prayer

To call God and us unequal partners is a laughable understatement. And yet by inviting us to do kingdom work on earth, God has indeed set up a kind of odd-couple alliance. God delegates work to human beings so that we do history together, so to speak. Clearly, the partnership has one dominant partner—something like an alliance between Microsoft and a high school programmer.

We know well what happens when human beings form unequal alliances: the dominant partner tends to throw his weight around and the subordinate mostly keeps quiet. But God, who has no reason to be threatened by us, invites a steady and honest flow of communication.

I sometimes wonder why God places such a high value on honesty in our prayers, even to the extent of enduring unjust outbursts. I am startled to see how many biblical prayers seem ill-tempered. Jeremiah griped about unfairness (20:7-10); Habakkuk accused God of deafness (1:2); Job conceded, “What profit do we have if we pray to Him?” (21:15). The Bible teaches us to pray with blistering honesty.

God wants us to come to Him with our complaints. If we march through life pretending to smile while inside we bleed, we dishonor the relationship. — Philip Yancey

Give Him each perplexing problem,

All your needs to Him make known;

Bring to Him your daily burdens—

Never carry them alone! —Adams

The best thermometer of your spiritual temperature is the intensity of your prayer. —Spurgeon

January 13, 2009

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/01/13/devotion.aspx