Opening the door to all of God's goodness (Psalm 34:9) with a Henry Ward Beecher story.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 34:9 (TM)

Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness.

STORY:

During the tenure of the great orator Henry Ward Beecher, a visiting minister (Beecher's brother) once substituted for the popular pastor. A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits. 

That's when the minister stood and said loudly, "All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!"

OBSERVATION:

Daily we are confronted by choices. Some choices are easy to make while others stretch us beyond our capabilities. How we decide which choice to make depends on whom we worship.

If we worship self then when difficulties come our way we become frustrated and fret about what is happening. Depression can slip in and have its sway over us. If we worship self then worry and doubt can win the day. If we worship self then we can be disappointed by preachers and churches thus finding ourselves searching for a different situation more pleasing to our self-centered spiritual nature.

If we worship God then we face each day with great hope and promise. If we worship God then we deal with every challenge with a positive attitude. If we worship God then grace and mercy mark the path we traverse. If we worship God then our focus is on him and not on our aches and pains. If we worship God, and God alone, then nothing but goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life.

Does that mean that only good things will come our way? Absolutely not! Does that mean that we will only be blessed with good health, healthy finances and positive relationships with everybody we met? Not so much. But it does mean that we don’t meet life’s challenges by ourselves. It does mean that we don’t have to deal with the struggles that come down our path all alone.  It does mean that when something knocks us down, we don’t stay down.

It is our choice … a daily choice … an hour-by-hour choice. At each intersection during the day we make a choice.

PRAYER:

Our desires is that Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me… All the days, all the days of my life… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me… All the days, all the days of my life… And I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever;

And I'll feast at the table spread for me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me… All the days, all the days of my life… so help us to make the godly choice when we are choosing.