Have you ever noticed that sometimes the harder you try to do something, or not do something, the harder that thing becomes.
For example, you are lying in bed wanting to fall asleep, trying to fall asleep. You keep telling yourself that you need to go to sleep, but it seems like the harder you try to fall asleep, the more awake and tense you become.
Or what about trying not to laugh. You find yourself in a situation where laughing would be inappropriate, but the more you try to suppress your laughter, the stronger the urge to laugh becomes.
What about making that foul shot or golf putt in a pressure situation. You have made it hundreds of times before, but when the pressure is high that simple task seems almost impossible.
Nothing seems to squash creativity as trying too hard or the pressure to complete the task.
Sometimes in life it seems like the more we hold tightly or try and force, the more difficult it becomes. But when we release and receive, something deeper can happen. That’s true in life, and it’s especially true in our relationship with God.
This Sunday we are going to look at how intimacy with God draws us to a place of worship.
Intimacy with God doesn’t grow through striving or pressure or working harder. Thoughts like… “I need to feel close to God,” or “I need to worship better,” rarely ever help. In fact, I would argue that those thoughts actually make it harder and can actually create distance. They turn our attention toward our own performance or experience.
But intimacy grows through presence.
It’s like sitting with someone you love. You don’t build closeness by trying harder and harder to feel something. You build it by being there, listening, sharing honestly, and letting yourself be known. Over time, connection deepens and affection naturally follows.
I think worship works in a similar way.
When we stop trying to manufacture the “right” feelings or the “perfect” response to God, and instead come humbly, honestly, and attentively… something happens.
We begin to notice God’s presence rather than chase it. We receive rather than perform.
And out of that intimacy, worship starts to rise on its own.
Not forced.
Not strained.
But like a natural response.
Like breathing out after breathing in.
The harder we try to produce worship, the more it can slip away.
But the more we rest in God’s presence, the more worship grows in and out of us.
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
