Surviving Sundays

"Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

at the voice of the enemy,

at the stares of the wicked:

for they bring down suffering upon me

and revile me in their anger." Psalm 55: 1-3

I am convinced that King David must have written this on a Sunday morning right before church! Does it ever seem to you that Sundays are the hardest day of the week? If it isn't the kids acting up when getting ready for church its the praise team you're leading acting up with their attitudes or tardiness, the pastor in a tizzy, or someone in the congregation complaining before church even starts. Why is worship leading so hard sometimes?!?

After our church split I wound up moving equipment in and out of a convention center each Sunday, a job I didn't ask for and didn't want! By the time I sat down at the piano at 10:00 I was mad at God and everybody. If God blessed the worship it wasn't because of me. Sometimes when I was in the worst mood He would bless it the most to spite me. People would come up at the end in tears saying it was the best service we'd ever had and I didn't feel like the Holy Spirit was within ten miles of me.

In the end, I realized that God blessing the worship had a lot less to do with me than I wanted it to be. There's still something in me that wants to take just a little credit for people connecting with God. There's still a bit of fleshly pride in me that wants recognition for my voice or leadership skills. There's still too much of me in the mix. John the Baptist said, "I must decrease, He must increase." Would to God that that was my attitude all the time!

I think the best strategy for surviving Sundays might be to realize that the enemy hates Sundays and will do all he can to make them miserable. To become selfless and to surrender them to God may be another great starting place and to once again don the robes and sandals of a servant, losing the spangled costume of a performer in need of accolades and applause. It also helps to keep some candy in the car for the kids.