Rocky Road Devotions: To Raise - or NOT to Raise

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord! Psalm 134:2^(NLT)

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10

Participating in worship this past Sunday morning was an absolute joy…and I almost missed it! Saturday night was a touch nightmarish. Unable to go to sleep, I stayed awake in bed from around 10:30PM to 1:00AM, finally gave up, got up, and did what you do when sleep won’t come…I read the Bible for a while, scrolled through the email and Facebook, and looked at some old family pictures.

While trying to get sleepy again in the quiet night, I heard a crash coming from down the hall. It was 2:45 in the morning, darker than Satan’s belly. I jumped up and investigated every room. Nothing was moved or missing, and I was now VERY wide awake, so I did the one thing certain to drive me into a coma…I folded that pile of clean laundry. Sleepy? Nada…nope…zilch! I almost sent my daughter a text to let her know I’d most likely be asleep while she was in church, and not to worry. But I just went back to folding the laundry and finished that vital task at precisely 3:48AM.

At that moment I looked up at the wall over my bed and noticed something odd. One of the three pictures over the headboard was missing.

The two outside are LOVE and PEACE; the missing middle one is from the Christmas song Twelve Days of Christmas…the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…a PARTRIDGE in a PEAR TREE. The PARTRIDGE had flown the coop!

And there it landed this, 1½ pound picture was right where my head normally rests. And it then struck me (not the picture, it was a thought which struck my head) that, had I been asleep, and not been restlessly wandering about the house doing odd chores trying to get sleepy, the point of that picture could have been the last thing to enter my mind. Well, I immediately repented of any thought of ditching church and thanked the Lord for keeping me out of bed and not speared by a partridge in a pear tree. I then showered and prepared to head off to Sunday School and worship.

The near attack of the partridge dropping from my bedroom’s pear tree wall drove me to think deeply of how differently we all are in expressing our worship.

Ads on Facebook TV, and wherever the eyes of the public might wander, are created to convince you (and sometimes maybe their creators) that their brand of whatever they’re trying to sell, is best, real, the genuine, longest-lasting, best-flavored, smoothest-running, most effective, and coolest-looking of anything you’ve ever seen. (That goes double for political ads).

“Newest” is the most-used word in advertising (and according to research, the most powerful). But often it is the “same-ol’ same-ol’ repackaged in a new colored wrapper, an updated name, and not the least bit of moral conscience to guide their marketing lies.

There…I’ve said it out loud!

(and maybe I’ve just uttered a long overdue confession of my own).

In the competitive world of business the bottom line is, well…the bottom line! It is a “for-profit” world that sells stuff. And there is a good reason why there are government watch-dogs to guard the public interest when it comes to truth in advertising; to wit: When “profit” is the main thing, scruples often go begging!

Now for the confession -

It can be the same way in church when we’re busy “selling” our fidelity to God. I worship with a large congregation, different (to say the least) from the much smaller congregations I served before I retired three years ago. In worship times, as the songs begin to crescendo or blend-in common strong, familiar phrases, there will be a pair of hands raised, then two or three more; finally, there are hands raised in every row of standing, swaying, singing bodies with eyes closed and facial expressions of pain, or possibly just engulfed by joy.

Occasionally, I am one of them. But those hands only rise to the occasion of joy unspeakable, thankfulness which just cannot be contained.

Please do not misunderstand – this is my personal confession; I do not judge others as to their motive for lifting hands. By way of explanation, I am from a generation that did a pretty fair job of judging the church. It was we Boomers of the 1960’s who preferred Woodstock for our worship, and John Lennon’s crew for our pastor (Lord help us)! However, when I had judged enough (and paid the price for my judging ways) I came home to the Lord of the Bride; my hands were as empty as the Prodigal Son – no excuses…just ready for grace and forgiveness.

One thing remained when I came home to Him – my “congregational coldness”! That upbringing was deeply indoctrinated, and it never included hands lifted, let alone swaying to the music, or (Heaven forbid) clapping to show appreciation for the singer or the sermon. We stayed quiet (very much a favorite for introverts like me), and we paid attention, even taking notes on the sermon to help us remember which part of our sin-ridden lives we needed to repent that week.

So, the bottom line for these thoughts – I accuse no one of being less than genuine if they lift hands in praise (the Psalmist said it’s OKJ)! I am not bothered if someone sways gracefully to the music as their authentic response to the movement of God in the Sanctuary – an outpouring of praise and dedication to Almighty God and His Son, Jesus. I would add, however, that doesn’t mean the rest of us, who remain quieter, are somehow rigidly opposing the more gregarious movers and shakers; we are simply contemplating; we are respecting God with our standing-still in the presence of what He is doing in our midst.

The Psalmist said that was good too! J

For You Today

One final reflection:

We know that in everything God created, and in everything He said about what He made and ordained as good, that there is beautiful diversity.

· No sky is the same in any moment of the day, nor are rivers unchanging.
· Every species and variation of animals, reptiles, birds, fish, and certainly human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made[1] to be diverse, as unique as their fingerprints.
So, as the Lord’s brother, James wrote: Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.[2] Let me borrow his style and apply it to what I know about this handy question:

If your raised hands show the Lord your faithful heart, please know that, as I stand next to you with these hands dropped quietly at my side, inside this heart of mine both hands are raised to the Heavens.