"Respond With Worship"

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped."  Job 1:20

Job had just received word that all his children were dead, his flocks destroyed, and his servants killed; in short, he lost everything (all at the same time).  What did Job do, how did he respond, what was his reaction?  No doubt Job grieved deeply, no doubt he was overwhelmed by what had happened, you know his heart was broken, and he was distressed, but in spite of it all, he "fell down upon the ground and worshipped" God.  

How do you respond to the trials that come your way?  Do you respond with worship?  Or do you blame God for what has happened?  Do you have a pity party by sitting around feeling sorry for yourself?  Do you get depressed and become a mental basket case?  None of us have faced such tremendous calamity as Job, but we can still learn something from the way he responded to what happened to him.  Praise and worship seem like the last thing you should do when difficulty strikes, it seems foolish and out of order, but it is exactly the first thing you should do.  It will cause you to be lifted up above your situation instead of it being lifted up over you.  It will cause you to get victory over it instead of it getting the victory over you.  Worship will take you into the very presence of God, where you will find everything you need to walk in peace, strength, and joy.  Job knew this; he knew his only hope to make it through this was in God.  (It's our only hope too.)

Have a great day.  Let worship be your first response.