Day 3

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

There’s a movie scene, where a King comes out to fight, and he is glorious on his war horse as he shouts and gallops in victory toward the enemy. The glory of this moment is spine-tingling to see the king arrayed in his royal cloak and his face is radiant and fierce, friendly and ferocious, all at the same time. It makes you want to cry.

If we could see God, it would take our breath away—at least that’s my take on it. Seeing God face to face would be too much for the mind to comprehend, it would be too beautiful. So we worship by faith, a God we have not seen, but who has become such a part of our lives, our identity is wrapped in him.

We, who have been saved by grace, are freed from condemning thoughts, from accusations, from the power of sin, because our great God has won the victory. He has gone before us, and conquered the power of sin and death.

No matter what our social status, no matter what kind of clothes we wear or car we drive, house we live in, job we work—we share this common ground at the foot of the cross. We are actually princes and princesses, children of the King of Kings.

No matter what circumstance we are in. Whether in plenty or in want, whether rich or poor we are loved by this great God, cherished by our creator. The God who made us loves us.

Doesn’t that make you want to sing? That you are loved by this God, the King!? I know there are a lot of songs on the radio about Jesus. But I challenge you to just sing aloud a song of worship all your own. Tell God how much you love him in your own tune with your own words. Praise the Lord with gladness. Bring him a brand new song, all your own, that is a love gift to his heart from yours.

Prayer: God, how I needed this uplift. Just to sing and release my heart freely in worshipful song to you. How I need to take my eyes off my self-interest and lift them to you.

I live in a broken world. I am broken, and so are those around me. But You God are perfect. There is never any reason to doubt your honesty and integrity. You have never done anything wrong, nor have any reason for anyone to think unwholesome things about you. You are entirely and completely trustworthy.

So many times when I’m trying to get joy from the world, it breaks, someone takes it away, or it wears out, or simply fades. But you God are eternal, and you promise to fill me up as with streams of living waters.

How joyous is this water you provide! It quenches my thirst, time after time. Only you can do that Jesus. When we try to quench our thirst at any other well, we will end up thirsty as before, and disappointed. Even the best of human joys, treasures and trinkets, or even our dearest loved ones are finite and flawed in places. Only You God are worthy of our worship.

Help us remember this, we pray in Jesus’s name, Amen.