Everyday Faith

Sometimes we wish the Christian life could be a constant state of euphoria in which we’re always experiencing God in some wonderful way.

But we need to realize that when we go to church, we won’t always have a strong sensation of God’s presence. We won’t always be deeply moved by a message. Then again, sometimes we will. When that happens, we can thank God for it.

Still, we don’t live for those times. We don’t depend on them. When we mature spiritually, we understand that we need to apply ourselves to the truths of God. We realize that we need to come down from our spiritual mountaintops to the valleys, to the real world of temptations, challenges, and trials.

Church should equip us, challenge us, and build us up. Something wonderful happens when God’s people come together for worship and Bible study. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20 NKJV).

Not only is God’s presence manifested in a unique way at church, but we often find a resolution for our problems while there. Or at least we gain a better perspective on how to deal with them.

The psalmist Asaph grappled with the age-old question of why the wicked prosper, and then it dawned on him: “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end” (Psalm 73:16–17 NKJV).

In other words, “I didn’t understand why things are the way they are. But when I came into God’s presence to study His Word with His people, my questions came into their proper perspective.”

When we think about the greatness of God, when we remember the truths of God, it puts our problems in perspective.