Daily Devotional Tuesday, August 24

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Worship

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Today is the Day by Lincoln Brewster; Run by Hillsong United; Love Came Down by Ben Cantelon; Desert Song by Hillsong United.

Read:  Psalm 90:14

Think:  Ben brought up an interesting point this weekend when he mentioned that God has hardwired us to worship.  We tend to limit our definition of worship to singing on Sunday morning, so the idea of worship being innate to our inner being seems odd.  But as Ben pointed out, we all have a universal yearning for something more to fill our hearts.  Often times this yearning manifests itself in the worship of accomplishments such as the desire to climb the corporate ladder, achieve in sports, or make the dean’s list.  Or it may be the yearning for possessions such as a bigger house, a longer vacation (I’d give one of my children for a week in Hawaii after the lack of sunshine we’ve had), or a more expensive car, the list is endless.  None of these things are evil, but none of them can satisfy the yearnings in our hearts.  We have all had that experience of driving the new car off the lot or receiving a promotion at work or getting a good grade.  It temporarily is a great feeling, but when we are honest with ourselves, we realize that it didn’t satisfy the longing as we thought it would.  When I was in grad school, all I could think about was getting a job offer.  I spent hours upon hours researching companies, attending networking events, and prepping for interviews.  I thought that if I could just get the right job offer, everything would be perfect.  Well God did provide a good job, and the moment the offer came I was ecstatic.  But after a few weeks on the job, reality set in.  While I was thankful for God’s provision, I quickly realized that my career was not the be-all-end-all of my existence.  Blaise Pascal wrote in the 1600’s that “there is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man”.  Pascal’s point is that this inner yearning that we have all experienced can only be satisfied by God.  When we truly acknowledge God’s awesomeness and delight in Him, we experience the satisfaction that none of the other pursuits in our lives can bring.  Psalm 90:14 says “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”  Things and accomplishments temporarily make us happy, but God’s presence is the only thing that can truly satisfy and fill us to overflowing with joy despite our circumstances. 

Do:  Take time to examine your heart and think about the things that you may be hoping will fill the natural yearning.  Ask God to satisfy you with his unfailing love. 

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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