INTRODUCTION

• Thank Dr. Shah for his vision and his heart to see our church worship God in spirit and truth.

• Worship is one of our four core values.

o That’s not something I dreamt up. It was crafted by Dr Shah and Nicole and the leadership of Clearview Church with the vision that one day, we’d be here. And by God’s grace, here we are.

• Dr. Shah asked me to flesh out something he touched on during the Night of Worship. If you were here, you remember…but if you weren’t, allow me to set it up for you.

• Modern Christian culture sends us a clear message: “Worship is a celebration.”

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o We’re told that worship is for those who have overcome. Worship is for those who have victory. Worship for those who are on the mountaintop.

▪ Is that incorrect? No, but it’s incomplete.

o As a worship leader, one of my responsibilities is to recognize that many people come into this sanctuary carrying heavy burdens.

▪ Some of us are facing serious illness or caring for someone who is. 

▪ Some of us are under extreme financial pressure.

▪ Some of us are navigating broken relationships/broken marriages.

▪ Some of you are simply exhausted—physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. 

▪ Today, we’ll look at some examples in the Bible that instruct us on how to worship through suffering, but by far, the most obvious example is the example of Job.

o Dr. Shah has been walking us through the story of Job…Let’s quickly recap the story.

BRIEF RECAP

• Job was a man of extraordinary blessing. Scripture describes him as blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil. 

• His wealth was immense—seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household. He had seven sons and three daughters. By every measure of his day, Job was successful, prosperous, and blessed.  

• But you know the story—there’s a wager in Heaven between God and Satan, and in rapid succession, messengers delivered news that completely shattered Job’s world. His animals were stolen, and the servants tending them were killed. Fire fell from heaven, burning up his sheep and more servants. Raiders took his camels and killed more servants. 

• And most devastating of all, a mighty wind collapsed his eldest son’s house, killing all ten of his children who were gathered there.  In one single day, Job lost everything—his livelihood, his legacy, his children, his future. 

• Job lost everything except God.

o There is something beautiful in that…but it’s hard to see the beauty in the middle of suffering. We can’t speedrun grief. 

• So here’s our question: “how can we truly worship God—and mean it— in the middle of grief?” 

o Well…how did Job do it?

JOB’S RESPONSE

• Job 1:20-22—”Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ 

• Now before we even start I need to say this— I know that I’m charged with leading this congregation in worship (and it means the world that you’ve all trusted me with that task.) 

• But I can tell you with certainty, that if I had just lost my three boys, I would not be saying “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” I have no clue what I’d say or where I’d be. 

• But Job was faithful. That’s why he’s the example of true worship, not me.

o FOUR SPECIFIC ACTIONS JOB TAKES

o 1. He Arose—Means there’s an action—there’s a rising up out of the numbness. Job wasn’t permanently paralyzed by grief.

▪ Remember, Nicole talked about this—you’re going to feel some numbness/shock in the middle of your grief. But you don’t have to stay there.

o In the face of overwhelming loss, Job made a deliberate choice to respond. This wasn’t denial or stoicism—this was intentionality. 

▪ Worship is a choice. It’s not a feeling we chase. It’s not a lifestyle we maintain.

o 2. He Tore His Robe—In the OT, we see this happen a lot—people tearing their clothes in mourning.

▪ We think of it like we see it in the movies (like this anguish just overtakes them and they don’t even realize what they’re doing.)

▪ Not true—This was a public, culturally recognized sign of mourning.

▪ Job didn’t hide his grief or pretend to be unaffected. He expressed his anguish openly.

▪ Our culture doesn’t like that. We want to deny/suppress our grief. (Funeralservices/celebration services?)

o 3. He Shaved His Head—Another external expression of inner pain.

▪ This is something we do. When the heart is heavy, the body follows. 

▪ Some people stop eating. Some people can’t sleep. 

▪ You pace. 

▪ You withdraw. 

▪ You bite your nails. 

▪ You slam doors. 

▪ You stare into space….your body will find ways to let the world know: “I’m not okay.”

o But all of these actions Job took lead us to the final one:

o 4. He Fell to the Ground and Worshipped—Complete prostration—the posture of total surrender before God.  

o What’s important here is that Scripture doesn’t say Job grieved…and then worshiped as separate actions. But they’re not.

• So also with you—when you’re suffering, don’t feel like you have to get through it so you can get back to worship!

o That’s sanitizing our worship. Job’s worship is not sanitized. It’s honest. He acknowledges his loss yet blesses God’s name.

o Many times, our worship is dishonest. We want to show up on Sunday and show God how “put together” we are.

• Psalm 142:1-2—I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.

• David understood that bringing his grief, complaints, and overwhelming emotions before God was itself an act of worship. It demonstrated trust that God could handle his honest heart.

• You know what we do? We hide our emotions. We keep God at arms length so we can maintain some of our own power/control.

Hannah’s Broken Worship (1 Samuel 1)

• A couple years back, Dr. Shah helped me walk through the book of 1 Samuel.

• The story starts with worship in suffering.

o Hannah carried this deep pain and longing for a child, compounded by Peninnah’s taunts and provocations. 

o Bible says went to the temple in ‘bitterness of soul,’ weeping as she prayed.  

o Her worship was so raw and desperate that Eli the priest mistook her for a drunk woman. 

o But listen to Hannah’s response. 1 Samuel 1:15— No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord!

o It’s significant that Eli didn’t recognize Hannah’s worship—and it’s easy to point the finger…but the truth is: worship from suffering looks different.

▪ Don’t ever fall into the trap of getting caught up in viral worship–those shiny, flashy online worship videos—because we see them, and then we get discouraged because your worship doesn’t look like that.

▪ I love seeing how other churches excel in their worship, but culturally what we’ve done is re–written the template.

▪ “I want my worship to look like that,”àbut the Bible is our template!

• Even in anguish, Hanna said: “I have poured out my soul before the Lord.”

Our Culture vs. God’s Heart

• It’s an unfortunate truth that our culture is at odds with biblical worship.

• Even leaders end up disappointed because we’re looking for our congregation to look a certain way during worship.

o We want to get back to joyful victory as quick as possible!

• I learned a lot listening to Nicole and Dr. Shah’s sermon on trauma. And one thing Nicole said has stuck with me—she said society is deeply uncomfortable with grief; push to “get over it” quickly.

• Don’t ever feel pressured to appear “put together.” The Bible never calls for that!

• Psalm 34:18– The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4–Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (we’re going to talk about that in just a second).

• Isaiah 61:3– To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

• This is how God sets you up to worship when you’re suffering. He doesn’t demand that you get through it so you can get back to worship. He meets you in your grief so He can give you strength to continue.

• James 5:13—Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms

o But wait…what if I’m not cheerful…do I not sing?

• We’re tempted to jump in and say, “No! You have to sing!”

• But listen to Proverbs 25:20—Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, And like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. 

o The Bible itself says that it doesn’t feel good to be singing songs of praise when you’re going through grief.

o Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t do it! It’s not saying, “don’t worship.”

o The takeaway is that part of leading others in worship is being sensitive to people—don’t boast about life when people are suffering. You’re taking away their garment and leaving them in the snow!

▪ “I’m just praising God!” Okay, but guess what? Your praise actually hurt someone!

• I’ve worked under Dr. Shah for 12 years now and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard other pastors ask “How many people go to Clearview?” 

o He often responds, “To be honest, I have no idea.”

▪ A lesser pastor would take that moment and revel in how much God has blessed us.

▪ But Dr. Shah knows that pastor may be struggling to keep his lights on. He knows better than to brag. 

▪ “But I’m just bragging on God!”

▪ Sure, you can brag on God, but be calm. 

▪ Sometimes, God will introduce suffering in your life to help you calm down.

• A lot of times, people recommend songs to be—and their goal is to convince me to like the song. Because they think I choose songs I like.

• I don’t choose songs based on which songs I like. I choose songs based on where we are as a congregation. I rely on Dr. Shah and the entire staff to help me with that. The songs we’re singing have been carefully chosen with prayer.

• And Proverbs 25 when people are going through grief, they may not want to hear jubilant upbeat songs. 

• This is not a one-size-fits all issue. This is complex stuff. I’ll give you an example very quickly.

• Listen to Psalm 137:1-4— By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

• But you know what God tells them? Go ahead and sing!

o Okay, so wait…should I sing? Should I not sing? 

o You should—but there are times when you won’t.

• But the hope is this: your suffering and your grief create space for God’s presence and transformation.

• We’ve looked at Job, we’ve looked at David, we’ve looked at David…but what did Jesus say about worship?

• John 4:23—Jesus meets this woman at the well. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

• If you’re suffering right now, know that God is seeking you.

• And you’re not going to see him as a physical person standing in front of you. You’re going to see Him in spirit and truth. You’re going to know Him in knowing the truth.

Conclusion and Prayer

• The entire goal of worship is for us to see God through the eyes of faith.

• Job didn’t need his family back. He didn’t need to endure his suffering so God would give him back his wealth.

• The ultimate thing Job needs is a vision of God.

o Job 42:5-6—I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

o This is what people want! This is true worship. People want to see God. Why do you think Clearview Church exists? We’re here to make Christ visible, because at the heart of our worship is a desire to see God.

o And it’s funny how we don’t really want that in celebration—but in suffering, we sure do.

o We’re gonna sing this invitation, and I want to invite you to worship with your whole heart.

o If you’re suffering…if you’re lost…