Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Worshipping Like Wise Men

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Today’s reading: Matthew 2:1-12

I can’t fib here, or skirt around the truth: I struggle with worship. Oh, I can praise God for Who He is: God of love, faithful, healer, jealous, provider. I can thank Him for all He does: answers prayer, protects.

But worship? If I praise God for who He is, how then do I worship Him? Because we all know it’s more than just singing songs.

So, I looked to the Magi.

They were foreigners from the East. Although the Magi were Gentiles, they knew what was written by the prophets about Messiah. They followed the star that led to Jesus.

  “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2 (NASB)

 And then?

They rejoiced with great joy.

They fell to the ground in worship.

Finally, they presented Him with the treasures they had brought.

The Magi found great joy in Jesus. We can too, during this season. At times it may be stressful, but we can choose to rejoice that our Savior lives, and that He will one day return for us.

They gave Him their treasures.  What treasure do you hold dear? For me, it is control. As I worship Jesus, I can honor Him with my love, and submit control of my life to Him. 

The Wise Men worshipped Him. In a literal sense, this means to fall to the ground, to prostrate oneself. But I’ve also found a definition that is befitting worship of the King of Kings: 

Worship is to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission. 

True worship, in other words, is the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of preferences. True worship is a matter of the heart expressed through a lifestyle of holiness and submission. 

We can worship by honoring God with God honoring behavior.

To worship Jesus, we can surrender our treasures to Him in love and honor; we can humble ourselves and bow low before Him; we can recognize His worth, and keep Him top priority during this Holy season – and always!

Points to Ponder:

*What are different ways you can express your worship of Jesus this Christmas? Caroling, giving, finding joy in your circumstances?

*For further reading: John 12:1-8. Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. What treasure can you lay at the feet of Jesus?

The Art of Listening

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His accent was thicker than early morning fog. No matter how I tried to slice through it, I could only grasp about every third word, if I was lucky. It was mentally tiring and very hard work. Unfortunately, my brain was not in a working mood that day. So I stopped listening. I put my brain in neutral and coasted.

Only thing is, on the way home, my husband shared some of the things he had heard from the speaker. He wondered what I’d thought. What did I think of this particular statement the man said. I had to confess I didn’t know. I had stopped listening. Evidently, I had missed a lot!

I wonder: Do I do that with God, also? When I don’t understand what He is saying, or what He wants me to do, do I just stop listening? Do I just want to take His grace the easy way, and not put forth any effort to hear Him? 

I’ve found there are several reasons I give up on listening to God. Maybe you will recognize some of these:

1. When I don’t understand. Sometimes God’s ways are not as clear as I would like them to be. I’m a process driven person, and like knowing directions from point A to point B to point C. God may zig zag around a bit, and I struggle to understand.

2. When I’m in a hurry and God is a bit slow (according to me!), I tend to stop listening. I’m sure, like with the speaker, that at this point I miss a lot! I’m so thankful the Lord is more patient with me than I am with Him!

3. I stop listening when I believe I see the answer to my problem. I barrel ahead, and muddle through on my own. Sometimes this works, sometimes it’s iffy, at best.

Listening is hard work; it’s an art!
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If these resonate with you, know this: Listening is hard work! It’s an art.  But there are things that will help you craft the art of listening.

Listening takes patience. I have an acquaintance who speaks very slowly, and takes a while to get her words out. Waiting to hear what she has to say is like watching snails crawl. But eventually she gets to the point. I need to practice patience while I listen to her. It’s the same with God. I know He will speak, I just don’t know how or when. I must be patient!

Listening is an act of love. Nothing shows a person love more than taking the time to listen to their heart. It’s putting yourself and your agenda second, so that you can heart what they have to say. Think how much love we show toward the Lord, when we are still and listening to Him. 

Listening is an attitude. You can have a great attitude or posture of listening when you lean in and show interest. Try it the next time you need to listen to someone. Gently lean in toward them. How can we do this with God? Many times I simply open my hands, palm up, as a symbol that I am open to hearing Him. It’s a heart attitude. 

Good listening takes time. If I take the time to read God’s Word, asking questions along the way, then I MUST take time to stop and listen for His response. It may not come today. It may not come tomorrow. But I have to give Him time to answer. God’s time is not my time. Wait on Him.

If, like me, you tend to stop listening, don’t give up. Learning to listen well is a gradual process. Praise God, He never gives up on us!

And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Yes, I’m listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10 TLB

Lord, Thank You for being faithful and never giving up on us! Give us ears to hear Your instructions, Father God. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Grace be with you,