Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you

- Matthew 5:23

What happens if we enter into worship open to receiving conviction from the Lord? Sometimes we see sin that we’ve been forgiven of and need to leave behind. Sometimes the Lord directs our attention to a relationship that needs to be repaired.

In today’s passage, Jesus paints a picture of the Lord’s conviction. If we repeatedly push off the Lord’s conviction we become tone deaf to the Lord’s voice. The consequences of such deafness are disastrous. So in some moments when all of our focus is on God, he will speak conviction to turn our attention to a brother or sister who has something against us.

How difficult it can be for us when this happens!

We work so hard to get to the altar. We carve space into our schedules for a quiet time with the Lord. We get the kids fed and dressed and in the car to make it to church. We leave work early to make it to small group. We want to worship our Lord, but when we finally “get to the altar” we find our minds aren’t focused on him.

At first, this inability to focus on the Lord may feel like a distraction. We all encounter distractions when we attempt to worship the Lord. Distractions pass quickly, especially once they’re written down. But convictions linger and keep coming back to our minds. We can’t shake them. You know in your gut when you’re resisting a conviction.

If you know you are resisting God’s conviction to make a movement toward reconciliation, would you open your heart to the Lord, ask him to forgive you for your resistance and commit yourself to following the Lord’s conviction wherever it leads, as he gives you strength?