Share your stories

 Psalm 34:1–22 (ESV):  

1  I will bless the Lord at all times; 

his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

2  My soul makes its boast in the Lord; 

let the humble hear and be glad. 

3  Oh, magnify the Lord with me, 

and let us exalt his name together! 

4  I sought the Lord, and he answered me 

and delivered me from all my fears. 

5  Those who look to him are radiant, 

and their faces shall never be ashamed. 

6  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him 

and saved him out of all his troubles. 

7  The angel of the Lord encamps 

around those who fear him, and delivers them. 

8  Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! 

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, 

for those who fear him have no lack! 

10  The young lions suffer want and hunger; 

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 

11  Come, O children, listen to me; 

I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 

12  What man is there who desires life 

and loves many days, that he may see good? 

13  Keep your tongue from evil 

and your lips from speaking deceit. 

14  Turn away from evil and do good; 

seek peace and pursue it. 

15  The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous 

and his ears toward their cry. 

16  The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, 

to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 

17  When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears 

and delivers them out of all their troubles. 

18  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted 

and saves the crushed in spirit. 

19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, 

but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 

20  He keeps all his bones; 

not one of them is broken. 

21  Affliction will slay the wicked, 

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 

22  The Lord redeems the life of his servants; 

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. 

'Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!' Corporate worship is good. We should be inspiring others into praising and honouring God. Throughout this psalm David is testifying about God, sharing something of what has done, not because he is boasting but because he wants others to be caught up in the excitement of who God is. So he tells them of God’s goodness to himself, specific ways God has come through motivating those around him to praise God with him. What a great example of how we should share breakthroughs, God’s provision, sustenance and power even in small things, as God is working there as well as in mighty miracles and dramatic turnarounds. David tells how God; hears the poor and humble, releases from fear, saves those who fear God, sends angels, provides, gives life, brings good, delivers, comes close to hurting people, and protects. David has experienced these things and he is telling us about it because he wants to inspire us to worship God. It doesn't matter if you feel like it, or are having a good or bad season, God is still doing these things and deserves your praise. David invites you to celebrate in the goodness of God to others, are you? And, are you sharing stories from your life with others to inspire them to worship God? 

When you consider your life, there are probably a fair few instances where you wonder where God was or what He was up to. You can reflect on all of the trauma, all of the blessings, or a fair mix of both. If you do the first two then your stories of celebration or commiseration will not inspire others to develop their relationship with God. Your stories of your life can and should inspire worship, faithfulness and obedience to God. 

If your stories are all of a depressing nature then you are certainly not testifying about the goodness of God in your life. You are probably failing to see it or appreciate it and you are not inspiring yourself or anyone to worship. If that is your circumstance then I encourage you to ask God where He is in those things. I guarantee that He is present and working, you just need to see it. It is trues that, 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous'. However the promise is that, 'the Lord delivers him out of them all.'! So, even if you feel stuck in a rotten situation, you can know that firstly, it is not surprising it is actually quite normal for someone who is following God, so you're clearly going right there. Secondly, that God can and will deliver you out of it as you are one of His children. So even in the difficulties and hardest times of your life God is seeking to do good to you, do you see it? If not, ask God to show you what He is doing and then you can thank God like David did, thank Him even for the small things like a new day, a kind word and provision. I am not saying that you should deny your troubles, certainly not, but, 'At all times' God is worthy of praise. Are you worshipping Him in every situation? 

On the other hand, if you are only saying how wonderful God is and how blessed your life is and not being real about the hardships, then how can anyone relate? Life is tough. People know that and are ok with that, you should be ok with that too and and able to admit it. It is not unrighteous to say life is hard. You can do that without losing faith as you know that God is always present and working. It is just you are suffering, 'the afflictions of the righteous' and life is not very pleasant right now. Don’t downplay your disappointment, grief, or frustration. You can be real and still honour God and inspire others to know Him and worship Him too. David strikes the balance brilliantly. He experienced much hardship, disaster and fear. He told God about his afflictions and prayed for relief, provision, guidance and salvation. When he was going through the tough times he had a rant and prayed hard without forgetting who he was or who God is. Then when the trials ended, which he knew they would, he praised God. He did not hide his shame, sin or difficulties, but shared his experiences to encourage others to worship. David knew that when God helps one of us out He helps us all, and so we should all be celebrating with joy together as we see the beautiful way God interacts in our lives. We can honour God with our stories, inspiring others to dig in, to breakthrough and to worship. We also should be motivated to worship God for His work in others’ lives too.

So, next time you are with a group of believers, how are you going to inspire worship?