‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come into his presence with singing’
Psalm 100:1
Being thankful and responding to our great God with joy and gladness is good for us. It is a wonderful habit to build into your day. Psalm 100 is short and its words are filled with how to worship our Lord. You could start or end your day reading it out loud or singing it or some other song of praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.Psalm 100 gives us a scaffold to praise and worship our great God. This is what I can shout for joy to the Lord – along with all the earth in response to what I know to be true. On the really bleak days, all I need do is say these words as they say it all. No further embellishments are required.
Praise and worship is not about me or my feelings. It has everything to do with God – He is never changing and these truths never falter. They are the same for me today when life is filled to the brim with good stuff, but they were also true in times past when I was in a darker place – here are the words to utter – no more, no less, these are sufficient.
Building this habit into your day has the potential to warm your heart.
Other suggestions:
- Create a playlist of music to listen to in the car that help you sing with joy. Start with a song you love and add to it slowly over time.
- Go to church each week and join your brothers and sisters as you offer words of praise and adoration to our great God. Even wearing a mask, we can still make a joyful noise.
