Lately, my Sunday mornings have looked a lot like a season finale of The Amazing Race. I run out of my house five minutes behind schedule, spill coffee on my shirt, and spend 30 seconds trying to make the stain disappear before running back inside to start from square one.

On the drive to church, I hit every red light. A crowd of geese slows my car to a halt as they stroll across the road, unbothered by my car’s horn. By the time I reach the church parking lot, I have seconds to spare before the service begins. I grab a bulletin from the church greeter before he can finish saying, “Good morning!” and slide into my pew just before my pastor steps into the pulpit. After all that running, it’s hard to focus on worship.

In reality, most of my Sunday mornings look something like this. Maybe yours do too. You wrangle small children out the door. You drive halfway to church only to turn around because you forgot to let the dog in. You sit down in your pew, then stand right back up again to take an urgent phone call that makes you miss half of the service. You struggle to stay awake or spend the whole service preoccupied about the busy week ahead of you. Or maybe you find that your heart just doesn’t feel ready for worship, even if you do beat the odds and make it to your pew in time.

REST IN GOD’S LOVE AS YOU COME TO WORSHIP

God understands our most stressful Sunday mornings. His Word offers guidance as we prepare our hearts to worship him. Join me in meditating on these five verses to quiet your heart, block out the noise, and prepare to meet with God as you come to worship this Sunday.

Start the day by looking around you to notice how all of creation joins you in praising God.

“How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory! How plainly it shows what he has done! Each day announces it to the following day; each night repeats it to the next. No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth.”

Psalm 19:1-4 GNT

Remember that you were made for worship.

“Sing to the Lord, all the world! Worship the Lord with joy; come before him with happy songs! Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, we are his flock.”

Psalm 100:1-3 GNT

Ask God to help you stop worrying about distractions.

“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.”

Matthew 6:31-33 GNT

Remind yourself of the ways God has been good to you in the past.

“They will tell about all your goodness and sing about your kindness. The Lord is loving and merciful, slow to become angry and full of constant love. He is good to everyone and has compassion on all he made.”

Psalm 145:7-9 GNT

Remember that God delights in your worship. Rest in his love for you.

“The Lord your God is with you; his power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in his love he will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you.”

Zephaniah 3:17 GNT