Celebration in Worship!
“Worship the Lord with gladness!”
Psalm 100:2a (NLT)
King David wrote, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 122:1 (NLT)
Is that your attitude toward worship? Do you worship with gladness? The Psalmists didn’t say, “I was sad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” He didn’t say, “I was mad….” God desires our hearts to be filled with His joy when we worship! In fact, Psalms 100 begins with joy. It says, “Shout with JOY to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with JOY!” (Verses 1-2)
Genuine worship is the expression of unbridled joy as we encounter the God who made us, died to redeem us, and lives to transform us into the very image of His Son! All of that calls for celebration on our part! It’s so easy to take worship for granted and begin to just go through the motions or rituals of our tradition and lose our focus on God. We can even get distracted by serving and lose the joy of the one we serve! So, the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 100 that, when we come to worship, we should “enter His gates with thanksgiving and go into His courts with praise.” (Verse 4)
Thanksgiving and praise! Imagine how charged with life and vitality our worship would be if we did that this weekend when we went to church! Thanksgiving and praise are the evidence of real joy! When we worship, we thank God for all He has done and is doing, and we praise God for all that He is! Thanksgiving gets us through the gates, and then, praise takes us into His very presence where there is fullness of joy! This Psalm provides a model of thanksgiving and praise in the final verses:
“Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love
continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” (Verses 4 and 5)
Thank God for His goodness. Praise Him for His unfailing love and faithfulness. God not only loves, but He is love! We praise Him for who He is and thank Him for what He does. As we celebrate His presence, we experience the joy of worship! I can’t wait to experience that this weekend at church. Can you? And here’s the good news – you don’t have to wait for the weekend! You can begin each day with a celebration of worship to the One who loves you and gave Himself for you. When you do, you’ll be prepared to say, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’”
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.