Vital Signs: Thursday, June 19, 2025

Worship in the Dirt

“My dear friend, when grief presses you to the dust, worship there.” — Charles Spurgeon

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” - 2 Corinthians 4:8–11 (NKJV)

Oh, I get it. Nobody wants to sign up for persecution, including me. A friend sent me a quote this morning by Oswald Chambers that says it all: “Christianity is not a devotion to a cause or a doctrine. It is devotion to a person.”

We don’t just worship when life feels good or when we are at our best. We worship because God is worthy, not because our circumstances are. Entitlement says worship is earned by blessings. Truth says worship is due to the One who gave everything.

So whether we are in grief or celebration, flying high or facedown in the dirt, may we exalt the one true living God, the Son of God, who gave Himself for us. He alone is worthy.