I have to be honest. There are times when I want to pull the bedcovers over my head and not go to church. I often have to work on Saturdays, so Sunday is my only day off. Church takes up a good portion of my day by the time I shower, dress, drive there, and then attend adult forum and worship followed by the fellowship hour before driving back home. However, I’m always glad I went. I have learned that on the days I don’t feel like going, it usually turns out to be the times I really needed to be there. Either I heard a message that pierced my heart, or I felt the Holy Spirit strengthen me, or I found I could be a blessing to someone else.
Sure, I could worship at home or on an early evening hike. But God moves through His people and I need to be around them. There is something about corporate worship that is uplifting and renewing. The author of the letter to the Hebrews warned them to not give up meeting together, as some were in the habit of doing, but to encourage each other, especially as the return of Christ was nearing (10:25).
We believers need to gather at least once a week to slough off the temptations out there in the world that threaten to influence us, to support each other, and to get a booster shot of faith. So let us go into the house of the Lord, rejoicing together.
Dearest Lord, forgive me for the days I do not want to spend time with You in the midst of Your people. Please get me up and going, then use me, teach me, and strengthen me to Your glory, Lord Jesus, so I can have the gumption to head back into the world. Amen.
Go deeper — The next time you don’t feel up to going to worship, will you do it anyway and be open to whatever God wants to give you in the process?