Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Psalms 100:1-2
Nothing seemed unusual about the day as I was standing in my kitchen making coffee this morning. I decided to put on some worship music, and as soon as it started playing, I was overcome by God’s presence. I began worshiping in response to Him, I worshiped Him because He is good. It was a beautiful moment with Him!
The Psalms are full of invitations to sing to the Lord, to worship Him for His goodness, mercy, judgment, and glory. Why do you worship? Is it because of His goodness? Do you worship Him because He is worthy of it, because He is deserving of it? Or is it because it makes YOU feel good, YOU enjoy the music, the experience, the flow of emotions that tends to accompany it? Is your worship about Him, or you?
Don’t misunderstand, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying worship! The music, the singing, it’s a beautiful thing to partake in! But we worship out of response to the Lord’s presence and goodness, not in response to the music and lights. “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods” (Psalms 96:4). True worship comes from a heart submitted to God, true worship comes from an understanding of who He is and what He’s done. It’s not dependent on how we feel or the circumstances we find ourselves in, what song is being played or if we’re comfortable or not.
Paul and Silas sang hymns to God while they were imprisoned, after being stripped of their clothing and beaten with rods (Acts 16:22-25). David wrote psalms of praise to God in the worst of circumstances. Psalm 100 was written because God is faithful, not because we are. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name”. Why? Because “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations”. It’s all about Him.
#CalledtoBattle
