Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
Commission
In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.
“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”
—Romans 8:28 (BSB)
If you were to ask me, “Which verse in the Bible has been misunderstood and misused more often than any other?” I would definitely consider Romans 8:28 to be in the running. It has become one of those cliché coffee mug verses, plastered on all sorts of Christian tchotchkes for as long as I can remember. The net result is that it becomes little more than a slogan: a spiritual band-aid to plaster over those times of life that don’t make sense, a go-to saying that can enable us to avoid dealing with the pain of a difficult moment if we’re not careful. In its modern usage it often has more in common with Pollyanna than the Apostle Paul.
And it’s a shame, really, because this is really quite a beautiful verse. It speaks, not to a “pie-in-the-sky” theology that dismisses our struggles, but instead to a good and wonderful God who is able to use even our most painful seasons of life for his glory. The verse doesn’t say “God makes all things good,” it says he “works good in all things,” and there is a big difference. Pain is still pain, suffering is still suffering. God doesn’t make them inert, but he does make them redemptive.
Here in Scotland there is a popular saying: “What’s for ye’ll no go by ye.” While I resist the determinism that can be read into that, I do take from it an understanding that what God has for me in any given moment is available to me, even when that moment is confusing and hard and painful. If I open myself to his purposes, if I cling tight to my love for him and his love for me, he can work those moments for good.
And what is good brings him glory.
SONG OF COMMISSION: His Glory And My Good (lyrics here)