Covenant Church of Castle Rock

Hebrews 3:8 "Do not harden your hearts.....in the day of trial." 

There are two responses for a Christian as they go through trials;

1) Harden your heart towards God through questions of why and attitudes of woe is me. 

2) Embrace it and learn to walk in God's rest. 

This past week I came across a video on youtube of a Hillsongs worship recording.  The name of the song is "Desert Song" and one of the worship leaders shares her testimony of things that happened in her life only a week and a half before the recording.  You will have to view it to get the full impact (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QemZQKKJbRU).  "Refine me Lord through the pain" and other verses are the exact thing that this verse is talking about. 

How awesome is it for people to see others who have walked through personally devastating circumstances and watch them still stand before a congregation and simply say "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship!"  This is a person that decided to walk with "confidence, steadfast to the end."  They are those who will enter His rest.  I am convinced that the rest Paul is talking about is a rest that can only be found in the trial and deserts of our lives.   

The downside is that Paul says the people who will not enter that rest are those who harden their hearts. 

I have personally walked through many challenges spiritually and physically that have occurred during the founding years of Covenant and I can honestly say that God has brought us through some very tough times.  But i cannot say that I always responded with steadfast confidence.  There are times that on the outside I was confident, but on the inside I was in turmoil, mad at God for allowing certain things to happen and hardening my heart in the process.  Then there were times where my heart was truly broken and embraced the pain of the refiners fire that I was going through.  And after personally knowing and walking through the two responses, the latter one is the best one, because God is faithful. 

"I will sing praise."  That should be our response, because God is God and that alone gives me a reason to worship. 

Blessings, John