How many incomplete projects have you started? If you were to look around your home right now, would you find items that indicate loss of interest? You began with gusto and excitement but as time passed you just got tired or bored of the endeavour and now there are partially finished attempts of desire around your home, filling closets and plastic bins. Passion alone only provides incentive for so long. It is not enough to carry you through.
Setting our minds on things yields accomplishment. Nothing is achieved without determination and desire. Once we focus on a task with unyielding persistence, it will be completed. Without an inner drive, few things reach fulfillment. A resolve must be mixed with the thought or as soon as the task gets hard or the path faces resistance, it's too easy to abandon the mission and walk away.
The Psalmist writes about setting our minds on a pilgrimage. Although the traveler's destination was geographical, it was first intellectual. A deliberate decision was made on a destination. Incredibly, instead of getting weary as the walk continued, their strength increased. With God-given power their aim is sure and their goal will be reached. The objective isn't just entertained, it is fulfilled.
What is that desired result? God. To come and appear before God. The love and longing for each one to personally see Him and meet with Him. Not content to just be counted in the congregation. Spurgeon writes it this way, "Not merely to be in the assembly, but to appear before God was the object of each devout Israelite. Would to God it were the sincere desire of all who in these days mingle in our religious gatherings. Unless we realize the presence of God we have done nothing; the mere gathering together is nothing worth."
As Christ-followers who set out to attend places of worship weekly, what motivates our pilgrimage? What gets us up and moving, rushing the family to get ready and spend the good part of our day with other brothers and sisters in the Lord? A recent study found that a large majority of those participating in religious services did so with a desire to grow closer to God. Certainly relationship and discipleship are key reasons to prompt our participation. We need to be taught biblical truth, grounded in the faith and growing in the Lord. But, are we missing the dearest element? Are our minds set on pilgrimage to simply come before God? Do we even stop and think about encountering Him there?
For many believers, the routine of the Sabbath setting out is just what we do on Sundays. It is more social than sacred. Conversations of worshippers in church foyers reveal how few have come with a heart to earnestly see God. It's rare, or possibly even completely non-existent, that church attendance is solely with biblical reasons.
Lord, would You awaken us to a fresh mindset. Would You fill our hearts with a longing to see You. May desiring Your presence truly be what drives us anytime we gather together in Your name.
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