The blog below was inspired by this episode of “What’s God Doing?”

Have you ever thought, “I am to distracted to worship” or “I’m to moody or numb to hear from God”?

If you have, I understand that it is quite discouraging.  You likely feel lonely and drained.  Life can seem too much to be interrupted by God.

I get it. I’ve been there.

I wanted to worship. I wanted to be in awe of God creator.  He deserved it.  He is amazing and I love him.  Yet this is how I felt.

I think of how people in other countries treat their kings.  Those kings are less powerful, less awesome, earthly kings compared to God, and yet people show honor.  Maybe I just don’t understand that culture, as I have a hard time relating.  I also think about how people get excited about a football game or their favorite artist, all in on celebrating them.  I want to worship God like that — the same level of honor and celebration — but he even deserves more.

How does one worship the God of the universe?  How do you focus your mind enough to do it?

These are overwhelming thoughts, and I wish I could tell you the answer to it; maybe the answer is as simple as asking God how he wants to be worshiped.  I was overwhelmed and felt like I didn’t even want to go to worship times because my emotions were too confusing, but maybe He had already equipped me to worship a different way.

Then He led me to Nehemiah 1 & 2

These chapters talk about how Nehemiah was a cupbearer it the Persian king in the time after God sent his remnant back to Israel.  He received bad news from Jerusalem of the destruction of the walls, and it deeply discouraged him.  He mourned and prayed to God, and when he eventually when before the king this happened:

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.  Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Nehemiah 2:1-9

He was miserable, worried, and distracted when he came before the king, but the king — a pagan, human king — was gracious on Nehemiah.  How much more gracious will show grace and comfort to you when you come to him, no matter the mood you are in!