Moses said to the LORD, “May the LORD, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” (Numbers 27:15-17, NIV)
Have you noticed how many players these days listen to music on the range? Some even keep their ear buds in all the way to the first tee. It’s as if they’re getting pumped up for battle, focusing in and blocking out to prepare for the task at hand.
Earlier this year, I listened to a message by Pastor Robert Morris of the Gateway Church in Texas, titled “His Entryway.” I’ve thought about that podcast episode just about every day since. The focus was on the idea of “coming in and going out,” an old military term phrase.
What did these great leaders do when they came in from battle—win or lose? They worshiped.
Morris explained it this way: “If they lost the war, they came back and worshiped to find out why they lost the war or to find out what they’d done wrong. If they won the war, they came back to celebrate. And if they were in the middle of the war, they came back to be refreshed. Men would come in, and come to the temple, and worship God, and get refreshed and go back out.”
The Holy Spirit speaks in moments when our minds are surrendered to the act of worship.
Moses knew this would happen, telling the people, “You will be blessed when you come in, and blessed when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:6, NIV).
Think about how music in a worship service gets you revved up for the day. How settling into the presence of God fortifies, edifies, and restores.
It’s the same when worship music is cranked up in the car, in the study, on the range, or during a quiet walk around the neighborhood. Worshipping throughout the day impacts our mood and effectiveness in a world that often feels like one big battleground.
Is there anything better than waking up in the morning with an old hymn or a song of praise in your head? What has been meditated on takes over the mind, fills the heart, and spreads to the fingertips, with arms instinctively outstretched to an almighty God.
The Holy Spirit speaks in moments when our minds are surrendered to the act of worship. Want to be a better leader at home, at work, or wherever your sphere of influence takes you?
Fill your days with worship.
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4, NIV)
—
Beth Ann Nichols
June 17, 2021
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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