He Leads Me Beside Quiet Waters

My friend is considering leaving his church simply because he hates the time of greeting every Sunday morning. He said, “A few years ago my wife left me. We’ve reconciled, but when I came to church I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to tell people we were separated and everyone kept asking where she was. I want to go to church for quiet worship, not to greet people.” I’ve visited a number of churches where worshipers enter the sanctuary and sit quietly as they prepare themselves for worship and it’s only after the service that they greet one another and have fellowship. I now wonder if orchestrated quiet time with the Lord isn’t yet another element of worship that we, and others, manipulate. David wrote, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3 NIV).