Last week I sent a note to the congregation I pastor. It was about being deliberate about our attitude on Sunday mornings.

It’s so easy to forget what (and who) worship is all about. All of us are influenced by the prevailing individualism and consumerism of our time. What mindset do we have as we prepare to worship the living God? 

A spiritual yawn?
A score card?
A please-me attitude?
Indifference to the body of Christ?
A closed mind to God’s word?
Thanklessness?
A sense of duty with no delight?
Chronic distraction?

For today’s devotional, I’d like to share another reason to glorify God with gratitude this Sunday morning. It comes from Derek Prince: “once you have told God the worst about yourself, you have not shocked him.”*

That is incredible. Think about the worst about yourself. Perhaps this is something no one else knows about. Perhaps you haven’t told another living soul. But God knows about it—and he is not shocked.

Not only is he not shocked, but he is ready to forgive. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

God knows about your worst. In Christ, he will forgive you. Freely! That is the God we worship.

Let’s do so this Sunday with gratitude, gladness, and hungry hearts.

Notes:

-*Derek Prince, They Shall Expel Demons (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1998), 207.
-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on June 2, 2025.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.