Five years ago at this time I was leading our congregation through the book “Red Letter Challenge” by Zach Zehnder. In many Bibles, the words of Jesus are written in red. This 40 day challenge was to read and think about the words Jesus said and then actually put them into practice! A brilliantly simple idea: Listen to Jesus and do what He says.

Day 8 of the challenge encourages you to “Worship the Lord your God” (Luke 4:8). It noted that worship is more than what takes place in church buildings on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is a way of life. But can you truly worship at all times? After we read that devotion, my wife prayed that we might avoid the distractions in our lives that keep us from worshipping God.

Right after that, I drove to the hospital to visit one of our members. She was there unexpectedly as a result of an infection and dehydration. Talk about a distraction! Do you think she felt like praising God?

We have seen the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. As I think about all those people dealing with the aftermath of those storms, I wonder if they feel like praising God right now with the distraction of destroyed homes and loved ones who were killed.

Every day we all have plenty of stuff that distracts us, whether it is traffic or job related or family issues or car troubles. Those things can take our focus away from the wonderful news we have in our lives: God loved us enough to send His Son to take our place in punishment, pay for our sins, and give all who believe in Him the guarantee of forgiveness and life everlasting. That  is the reason we have to thank and praise and worship our God.

One of the suggestions in the devotion for remembering to praise God was to listen to Christian Music. I do that quite a bit, especially while driving down the road. I listen to stations on the radio, but I also have playlists on my phone and computer. These remind me to worship and praise and thank God no matter what. And while music in the background is a good thing, it is also good to have some time when you listen to music with distractions! A couple of songs that I turn to in trying times are: “I Will Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns and the old hymn based on Psalm 46: “Be Still, My Soul.”

Scripture that encourages us to worship God at all times:

Psalm 34:1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May your life be one of constant worship!