Does It Take All That?

Does it take all that? I asked myself this question a few times this year, and I have found that the answer is YES. Does it take all of what? Do I have to go to church and sing and praise and worship? Why can’t I just watch church online or on TV? Do I actually need to be in the room? The answer for me is YES! I went to see a friend after school, and she was rushing because she was trying to get to Wednesday night Bible study. I stared at her and asked, oh, you go to church on Wednesday nights too? In my heart I knew that I was wrestling with working out on Wednesdays versus going to church, and I felt some conviction that she had made the right decision and I hadn't. And then here I was thinking about Wednesday night when I had also wrestled with church every Sunday. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Not only that I was questioning if the heightened emotions of Sunday were really necessary. Don’t shoot me down just yet because I’m probably expressing what many others have said or thought to themselves. I will speak for myself when I say that I can be very selfish with my time. I work and work out during the week, and my weekends are sacred. Isn’t it funny how I can take a word like sacred that really belongs to God and claim it for myself and my time? There I go again with my, my, my. But thanks be to God for His grace and His gentle reminder of how gracious He has been to me to get my thinking to change. Sure I can watch church online or on TV, but there is something sacred about being in the house of God and praising Him with other believers. There is something about feeling the anointing and the presence of God before you even walk through the doors. I’ve done a lot of wrestling lately, and one has been with being ungrateful. I went through some days of feeling like I should be further along professionally and financially, and then this came to mind. What has been my focus? Has it been God and His righteousness, or has it been on things? Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” That has been what is missing for a few weeks now because my gaze shifted away from God and onto obtaining things. For that I am ashamed and I repent. Thank You, God, for another chance to make things right with You. Because yes, it really does take all of that to experience all of You.