Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt
One morning while I was praying and worshiping the Lord, the Lord spoke to me. It was very clear and what He said was a fresh word to my heart. By that I mean that I had never had the thought He was communicating to me. As I was worshiping Him He spoke to my heart and said, Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit. When the Lord speaks to me He usually doesn’t say a lot. He’ll make a statement and then as I think and pray about what He has said, His words—the thoughts He wants me to understand, just seem to follow. Sometimes scriptures or stories from the Word will instantly come to mind and I know the Lord is teaching me and revealing more of Himself to me.
As I began to think about what the Lord said, I heard more. I heard Him say, I am not ego deprived.That was all I heard. I just began to meditate further and think about what the Lord had spoken. Suddenly, it was as if the lights came on.
I am a worshiper of God and always have been since I gave my life to Jesus. I was so thankful for Him saving me that I always wanted to find ways to express my thanks and love to Him. Besides that, the Word of God instructs us to worship the Lord. The Lord alone is worthy of and deserves our worship and I’ve never questioned it. Yet now I could see worship in a new light. The Lord said, Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit.The Lord was showing me that worshiping Him was for my benefit, not His. It was so easy to see. And so true!
Sometimes life seems like more than a plateful. As a man, a husband, a father, a Pastor, a son, a brother, a friend, and a Christian, it can sometimes seem like there are so many responsibilities—so many things I should do and do well. I want to be good at every one of these things. I want to be diligent and do what’s right and show the proper respect and love and friendship while being responsible to each of these areas of my life. Because I do, it brings me to this simple truth; outside of God, I can’t do it. Jesus warned us of that in John 15:5 (NIV). “He said, ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’”
It’s only when I’ve ever thought I could do all this and attempted to do it in my own strength that I’ve fallen flat on my face feeling overwhelmed or like a failure. God never created us to live outside His grace, strength, and help. The grace of God is His supernatural help given to us to do all the things He has given us to do well. He knew we’d feel overwhelmed without Him. He wanted us to lean on and count on Him—on His grace. When we learn to really focus on the greatness of our God and upon the covenant of blessing He established with us and for our benefit, when we meditate on His love that surpasses human understanding that He has for us, when we truly believe He desires and is willing to help us, then and only then will we lean on Him, ask, and have faith in His grace to help us. We would gain the strength to look anything in the eye and know He’d help us handle it. When we did, then we’d feel like the writer of Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) who wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
You have to admit, if you were anywhere near mountains falling or caught in roaring seas, you’d be shaking in our boots. These are the kinds of things that cause instant panic. But the revelation being shared in these verses is that when God is worshiped and magnified for who He is and His love toward us, His presence grows within us. A revelation of His love grows within us. He becomes almighty God and our problems and feelings of being overwhelmed shrink in the light of His faithfulness, His promise and His love. Then we are strengthened to take on the day and the challenges before us a step at a time knowing His grace is there to help us!
That is why the Lord said to me, Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit. Worshiping the Lord is for us—for our benefit. Psalm 95:6-7 9 (NIV) says, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”Psalm 34:3 (NIV) says, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
God is not egotistical. He does not tell us to worship Him for Himself. He tells us to worship Him so that when we look at the magnificence of the Heavens or of the creation around us—reflecting that He created it all, then we will also reflect that this great and magnificent God loves us and has adopted us as His children through Jesus Christ. Worshipping God strengthens us. That is why it is for us! Worship elevates the Lord in our hearts to His rightful place. When we worship the awesomeness of God, He is magnified in our spirit and the cares, worries and lies of the devil shrink. When we worship the Lord our faith grows in our heart and the supernatural help of God flows into our lives. When we worship the Lord, He becomes Almighty God and we become His children. Praise His Holy Name!
Psalms 89:15 (NLT) “Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.”
In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
Pastor Tim Burt
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