If you have ever attended a Sabbath service with us at TwentySixEight, you have probably heard the blowing of a shofar. In Jewish traditions, the shofar (a trumpet made from a ram’s horn) is blown during battles and Biblical holidays. It signifies repentance, power, and calls listeners to attention.

In addition to these major events, we like to blow a shofar each Sabbath as a call to worship. The sound of the trumpet lets us know that something is happening—something wonderful. It is an invitation to once again give our attention to The Lord and usher in His presence.

We are a worshiping congregation who takes seriously the fact that God is enthroned on the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In times of abundance, worship is especially easy. It is easy to praise God when we see His glorious works around us.

But what about when glory seems like a distant promise for someone else? What of worship then? Can we really give God glory when our lives seem to be falling apart?

Yes.

The people of the Bible were not immune from troubled times. In fact, book after book describes our ancestors facing seemingly impossible tasks. But throughout the pages, we are shown examples of how to praise God, no matter the circumstances in which we are living.

Habakkuk 3:17 says, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.“

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”

Hard times are an inevitable part of life on this side of eternity. They come in the form of sickness and disease. Maybe you have lost your income. Or your home. Maybe your struggle with depression or your anxiety seems like a losing battle.

Trials of this life come. But they do not have to rob us of the joy God has for us. Worship is the act of giving your heart. What we worship pinpoints what we give our affections and allegiances to. We worship something by clinging to it.

If worship portrays where our affections and allegiances lie, should our worship ever stop? And shouldn’t we cling tighter to The Lord when all else feels uncertain?

We worship Yahweh because He is good. Psalm 23 reminds us that even in the midst of the valleys of this life, we are never alone. And that where The Lord is, comes overflowing goodness and mercy.

We are a people who raise a hallelujah, knowing that God is in control and that God is good.

While we may not be physically together to hear the shofar blown in our church building­– here is your call to worship. You are invited to cling to Yahweh once again. And why not start with the latest song from Tribes & Tongues? You can listen to it here.