ambatishko's blog

Have you ever, because of certain events in your life, stumbled upon a Bible verse and winced as you read it? During a very difficult season in my life, I was unable to read Psalm 139 without hurt, anger, and frustration. So, I chose to avoid it, because every time I read “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v 13), I could only think of the pregnancy losses I had experienced.

Until one day, when forced to read it as part of a Woman’s Bible Study, I realized something. This verse not only applied to my losses, but to me personally. God knew when I was in my mother’s womb the struggles I would have. He knew how the struggles would draw me closer to Him. What a difference it made to know that! It’s still a section of scripture that pulls at my heart when I read it, but the bitterness is no longer there.

Last time, I began sharing with you my definition of worship. Through a quick word study, we learned that worship is important to God. We learned that worship is usually tied to something or someone (ideally God), and that it can be an immediate or continual response. We also learned that there are other words that tie into the subject of worship, words like prayer, sacrifice, serve, remember, and bow down.

The disciples, after Jesus’ ascension, “were continually in the temple praising God.” (Luke 24:53) We are also told “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Since we know worship is important, how can we incorporate worship into our daily lives? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

When I hear the word worship, I immediately think of Sunday morning praise and worship time. How I love getting together with other believers to sing His praises! The only thing is, I don’t have that right now in my life... I’m teaching Sunday school! While I try to squeeze music into my very packed lesson when I can, somehow corralling 4-8 preschoolers while singing “This Little Light of Mine” is NOT my idea of worshiping the Lord!

So, if I know what worship ISN'T for me, do I know what it IS? I began to ask myself, “What does it mean to worship, and is it important to God?” Immediately, I turned to my Bible Software program and typed in the word “worship”. Here are a few interesting observations from my initial study:

The concept of worship is mentioned 1,329 times in the Bible. I think that fact alone means worship is important to God!

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” Philippians 4:11-12

Standing in line at Kohls for an hour and a half on “Black Friday”, I had a lot of time to reflect on the commercialism surrounding Christmas. But commercialism isn’t just for Christmas anymore. From cupids to turkeys, leprechauns to Easter bunnies, each and every day the world cries out buy, buy, buy! Buy stuff for you! Buy stuff for your friends, family, pets, neighbors, coworkers! Buy stuff for the people you don’t even like!

What does the world tell us?
• Buying equals love. The more expensive the gift, the more love shown. (think car and diamond commercials!)
• It’s on sale, so you might as well buy two.

“And the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘You have circled this mountain long enough.’” Deuteronomy 2:2-3

The Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, enough time for a new generation to be born and raised up. Towards the end of their journey, they circled Mount Seir for many days prior to passing through the final lands necessary for them to reach the promise land. A few more roads to travel, a few more battles to fight, but they were almost home. I wonder what thoughts went through their heads as they were circling that mountain, over and over again. Was it safer to stay where they were, instead of moving ahead? Is that why God specifically spoke to Moses, telling him it was time to move on?

My husband and I are “professional waiters”. No, we do not work in the food industry, but we do have some experience in waiting for God’s timing in our lives. We were good friends for a year before we even considered dating, waited two years after that to finally marry, and have waited three years and counting to adopt a child.

Waiting feels like it should be a passive thing. When I hear the word waiting, I imagine an office worker sitting in a cubicle, praying for the minutes to tick by so he or she can go home. However, in my experience, waiting is actually a very active experience.

During the first year I knew my husband, I didn’t sit back and wait for him to notice me. We went on walks, wrote letters throughout the summer, and got to know each other as good friends. Our dating years and courtship was more of the same.

Isaiah 41:10 - Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Have you ever had one of those days? Life is coming at you from all sides, leaving you frustrated and discouraged? As much as you'd like to rejoice always and pray without ceasing and give thanks for what is happening (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), emotionally you just can't?

I recently had one of those days myself. As I was driving home from an appointment (the source of much of my anguish) around lunchtime, my first thought was to swing by my favorite fast food restaurant and order a big chocolate shake to ease my pain.

As soon as that thought entered my mind, the Holy Spirit spoke. How is a chocolate shake going to help me feel better? Will it solve my situation? Will it take away my frustration? No!

"This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 (NASB)

As an adult, there is a certain amount of planning involved in order to responsibly care for your home and family. Someone has to keep track of birthdays, appointments, planning meals, etc., and in my household that is me! Recently though, God has been teaching me that I get so caught up in the "next thing" that I don't take time to enjoy the moment I am in.

Take a look at children. Watch them as they build with legos, play in the sandbox, or eat a big piece of chocolate cake. They are fully engaged in the moment. They aren't thinking ahead to the next thing they have to do. They aren't worrying about all the "What if's" that the future holds. They are enjoying the moment.