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I remember being told as a teenager that the way I sat was problematic and that my bad posture was not going to help my back injury get better. In contrast, I often noticed my friend who had spent years singing in choir and had developed exceptional, upright posture that she was able to maintain in daily life.
Apparently, when singing choral music, it helps to have good posture.
It is true, though, that not every posture is beneficial in every situation. If a lineman on a football team were to stand upright at the line of scrimmage like a choir singer, he probably would not be much help to his team once the ball is snapped. He might get flattened.
Instead, the lineman takes a crouching position. He is ready for the force that is about to come at him.
But a lineman's posture would not be good for eating spaghetti. A posture good for eating spaghetti would not be great for sleeping. A posture good for sleeping would not be good for doing push-ups. You get the point.
Our posture makes us ready to respond or act, and the more time we spend in a posture, the more natural and easy it will be to maintain that posture.
There is something striking about the posture of an ancient man named Job. He experienced a great deal of loss all in one day: his property, his livelihood, his workers and his offspring.
He tore his robe and shaved his head, similar to what others in his time would do in a moment of great grief. But we read, "then he fell to the ground in worship and said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.'" (Job 1:20-21 NIV)
This impulse may seem insane to the world. Yet it has been demonstrated that some of the most remarkable moments of worship can come in times of profound grief. Believers in Ukraine huddled together in bomb shelters and sang praise songs to God. Believers in Hawaii got together and sang praise songs after losing their homes in wildfires.
The cynical among us may suggest these people are mentally unwell. Or perhaps we would think it is just a coping mechanism. But I would suggest that Job and others have a posture of praise because they have a perspective that has prepared them.
A singer knows to maintain good posture because of what she has experienced and learned about its overall benefit. A lineman knows to maintain his posture because he has perspective. If I kneel when I pray, it is because I recognize who I am before the Creator of the universe. If I stand with my hand over my heart for the flag, it is because I know what it means.
In Luke 22:14-20, Jesus is sharing one last meal with his friends before he dies on the cross. He knows he is about to suffer, he tells them so, and yet he gives thanks to the Lord as he shares this meal. He knows the big picture. His perspective informs his posture.
By Acts 5:40-42, the apostles have already been arrested multiple times. In this instance, they are allowed to go, but only after they are flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus. But they left "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV)
We are going to feel things in this life. Things will hurt. Things will bother us. Things will bring us great sadness. It is not that we shouldn't feel those things or recognize those feelings as important and meaningful. But we must routinely recalibrate to make sure we have the right posture and perspective with God.
There is a CBN News video that can be found online in which a young boy named Willie Myrick is kidnapped. He spends three hours captive but decides to sing praise songs constantly until the kidnapper relents and lets him go. This boy, who had spent time in worship, praying and memorizing Scripture, had developed a posture that prepared him for the moment of trial.
When we praise, we declare God's power over the adversary. It is about more than anticipating the challenge and thinking about what I am going to do about it. It is about having a firm grasp on who I am trusting. I don't want to merely go through the motions of praise, but I want to be deeply grounding my trust in my Savior and my God.
May we all practice our posture before the Lord and before the world so that we might be ready for the trials that await us. If we are going to praise God in the hard times, let us praise him in the good times. If we are going to know God's heart when we are hurting, let us seek to know his heart when we are not. If we are going to remember the comfort of Scripture tomorrow, let us meditate and memorize it today. May we be able to say like the prophet:
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV)
Even before we understand why or know what is next, we praise the Lord.