We have a wonderful Heavenly Father who loves us so much, and who longs to be involved in every area of our lives. He longs to be with us in hard times and in good times. He wants to sit with us when we cry, and laugh with us when we rejoice. We can always come to Him.
I have had some amazing experiences in my life, when I have chosen to worship Jesus, as my first response to bad news. When bad news rolls in or something has hurt me, going to God as the first thing I do, has become a priority. When I can worship Him in that situation, it puts Him back on the throne, and gives me His perspective and wisdom. I have often chosen to worship through tears, because I know that He is good, and “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28).
But moments that have been even more amazing, are the ones where I have chosen to worship Jesus as my first response to good news.
Sharing good news
In Luke 17 we can read the story of the ten lepers. When the lepers asked Jesus to heal them, He told them to go show themselves to the priests. On their way, they were all healed, but only one of the men returned to Jesus to praise Him and say thank you. Jesus even commented on this Himself, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? (Luk. 17:17-18).
Were the other nine lepers actually ungrateful? I don’t think so. They were probably very grateful. They were just so excited about their healing, that they wanted to tell their loved ones. And who can blame them? Lepers at that time lived apart from their families. They might not have seen them for years, let alone given them a hug. Of course, they wanted to see their families. They might even have planned to go back to Jesus later, to say thank you. But they didn’t go back to Jesus first.
When something good happens to us, we want to share it with the world. Maybe we call up a friend or post something on social media. Of course, we should share the good news. But do we actually come back to Jesus to praise Him and say thank you? And how many of us do that, as our first response?
A stronger connection
Our passion and joy over the good news seems to be at its highest, the first time we share it. With the next person the joy seems to have lessened a bit, and even more so with the third or fourth person.
Arthur Burke once discovered that the first person he shared good news with, was the person with whom his relationship was strengthened. So, when God did something amazing and he called people to tell them, they would rejoice together and their relationship was strengthened. But later, when he went to God to praise Him for what He did, the passion and joy was much less. So, he decided to change and go to God first to celebrate the good news, and through that he saw how his relationship with God grew.
I usually say a short prayer of gratitude the moment I find out what God has done. But if I have already shared the good news with others the next time I get into God’s presence, I have to admit my prayers of gratitude are not as passionate as they could be. So, lately I’ve tried to make it a point to celebrate with Him first. To make worship my first response to good news.
A special blessing
One man went back to Jesus as the first thing he did. He was praising God in a loud voice, and he fell at Jesus’ feet, giving Him his first passion and joy. And Jesus responded by saying “your faith has made you well.” (Luk. 17:19).
That word for ‘well’ in the Greek text is ‘sozo’, which means to save, deliver, preserve, make well and make whole. The other nine received healing in their physical bodies, but this man was made whole body, soul and spirit. He received a special blessing because he came back to Jesus first.
In my experience, there is a very special grace, right when we hear the good news. It feels like a special bobble of extra joy we can tap into, if we chose to come to Jesus as the first thing we do. For me those moments of joy have been some of the greatest in my life! I can honestly say it feels like celebrating with all of Heaven. Like fireworks are going off. Often, He will also show me in greater detail, what He actually had to do to bring this about.
So why would I ever go to anyone else first? I guess it’s a habit I have learned. But it’s definitely worth it to form a new habit. My relationship with God is strengthened in these moments. Even if I only have a minute or two. Giving Him the first of my joy and passion and praise brings me so much closer, and makes my joy overflow even more.
