2 Chronicles 7:3 - "When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.'"
This coming Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is sadly known as Low Sunday because historically, throughout the whole church, there are fewer people in worship than on a regular Sunday. It's quite a contrast from the overflow attendance of Easter Sunday. And it's also very sad because God's word tells us in today's verses, and in all the Easter accounts in the New Testament, that the natural response of all who know the love of the Lord and believe the resurrection of the Lord is to fall humbly before the Lord and worship him.
Realistically, Pastors contribute to the sad reality of Low Sunday by often taking vacation the week after Easter Sunday. Additionally, right after Easter Sunday, people in general go into "end of the school year" and "summer" modes, which translates into a different rhythm to the week, so worshiping the Lord is not a priority. I understand these things.
However, I appeal to all of you to recognize that the testimony of God's word never changes as to why our hearts hunger for worship and are motivated to worship:
1) God always remembers us and shows he's with us,
2) In remembering us and visiting with us, God tells us he knows our afflictions, which are all the things that we need God to set straight and provide for in our lives, and
3) God promises to set our afflictions straight.
Hungering for these treasures that God provides and that are emphatically poured out in the cross and resurrection of Jesus, I encourage you not to cut back on your worship of God for the next few months but instead to increase it seven times over. In sum, worship God daily, and, in so doing, feed the hunger of your heart and be ready to feed your family, ball teams, coworkers, and fellow humanity. Read your Bibles together each day in your homes. Take your Bibles with you in your cars to work and to ball games. Tell your coworkers and ball teams when and where you're going to read your Bible out loud and share a prayer so they can join you in your worship. If you're not in your town on the traditional worship days of Sunday and Wednesday, then find and attend another church.
The bottom line is that your heart is just as hungry for God's remembrance of you, God's knowledge of your woes, and God's promise to minister to you during the days and months after Easter Sunday as your heart is hungry on Easter Sunday itself. So feed on God's word. Bow humbly before the Lord, worship him, and hold fast to his word.
God is alive daily and eager to feed you with his word. Come daily to the table of his presence and eat.
Trust Christ, and you'll see.
Praise God!
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