Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? --
When the Hebrews were dragged into exile in Babylon, they were not kept in prisons or even camps.
They were free to marry, build homes, plant crops, hold jobs, and even worship. But they had a hard
time worshiping in exile because they were not where they wanted to be. So they lived with a deep
sadness that ran down to their bones.
I'm amazed by this, but often when peopleOs lives have been interrupted by a great tragedy, they
stop coming to worship. I used to think this was because they were embarrassed by their loss of a
loved one, job, or health. But I've discovered that more often people stop worshiping because they
have lost their vision of God. To stand in worship beside so many singing praise to the Lord just
creates too much existential contradiction. It's a tragic irony of the soul that in the times we
most need to worship, we find it most difficult.
Like the exiles in Babylon, we try to numb our spiritual pain by making life more comfortable.
We work hard, collect a lot of things, and make Babylon as nice as we can.
But it doesn't matter how nicely we decorate it, Babylon is not our home.
And the day we deaden our longing for God is the day we spiritually die. So we worship.
It is the only place that our souls are at home. And we worship especially when it feels like a discipline,
because then it's a matter of life or death.
-- Craig Barnes