Scripture: PSALM 100 — “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
The one thing you can speak into existence is the expression of what is in your heart. Whatever it is you might be feeling can only become integral to your environment when you decide to put both verbal and non-verbal language to it.
If you pay attention as you navigate your life, you will notice that in the atmosphere of any room is something that is as palpable as it is invisible. What people can’t put their finger on is often undeniable in its ability to shift either the sense of great expectancy for victory or the feeling of rapid descent into gloom.
In our walk with God, there is nothing of consequence to be accomplished that is outside of our total dependence on His grace and power to make it real. But the one constant of a church that seeks the heart of God is its complete acknowledgment of His steadfast love that flows out of His goodness.
And what should flow out of His goodness is our gladness. But it is impossible for gladness to be expressed from your heart before it is implanted in your soul.
It’s understandable that a person who only knows how to seek the fruits of happenstance because they don’t know the God of joy, would not live with gladness in their heart. But for those of us who walk in the light of God’s love, it is a mystery that from time to time our hearts don’t reflect it.
The passage for today speaks of the gladness in your heart producing sounds that would make it known. What are these sounds? They are musical notes that point people toward God. They are songs of adoration that declare our awareness of His presence. They are expressions of awe that, when voiced in praise of people, produce pride, but when shouted in exaltation of our Creator, produce humility.
Why is it so important for you on this day to let your total existence be centered around who He is?
Because of who He is!
Psalm 100 is direct in declaring it. It says, “Know that the Lord, He is God!” Think about what that means. It means that there is nothing in the consciousness of the earth He created that could ever include all that He knows that is outside of it.
In other words, if we aren’t careful, we can lack awe of who He is because we have chosen to view Him through the limited scope of who we are.
You can speak into existence the expression of your heart, but He speaks into existence everything your heart can fathom and everything it cannot. It’s the epitome of a prideful spirit to acknowledge God’s greatness, but also to be underwhelmed by it because we grade it on a scale that is realistic in our eyes.
The truth is, our hearts can be aware of the enormity of His greatness when we allow Him to impart in us the grandeur of it without insisting that our minds be able to explain it. It’s the pride of our flesh that serves to be a barrier for God’s glory to be resident in our soul.
If you didn’t have Jesus reigning in your heart, do you think the sin of this world is something you could withstand and still have peace?
Do you give God glory for producing gladness in you? Do you credit Him instead of yourself because He is a little better at developing it than you are? Or do you realize that true gladness originates only from Him?
The truth that will transform your heart from apathetic acknowledgment of His goodness to overwhelming gratitude for it, is the realization that the difference between your version of gladness and His version of gladness is the difference between hopelessness and fullness?
Maybe we don’t adore God as much as we should because we have become comfortable with His influence instead of desperate for His Lordship. Is it possible that we abide in His principles, rather than in His presence?
Take time today to put yourself in a space that you can let love and adoration for Him rush from your heart. Give yourself the opportunity to hear words come out of your mouth for the exclusive audience of Him and you. It’s humbling to sing His praises out loud.
In a world that likes to express intimate words to a spouse or loved one on public platforms in order to impress everyone else but them, experience the blessing of expressing your love for His ears only.
There is a place for public worship. But public worship that isn’t preceded by private worship is superficial worship.
True gladness flows from a heart that has received the greatness of God, even though the mind cannot comprehend it. Allow God to grant you as much of it as your heart has room for. Then make a joyful noise that is produced by His greatness that dwells in you.
Reflection:
What can you express from your heart to God that reflects His greatness?
Make a list of the things you realize would not exist without Him. Take time right now to express audibly what you feel internally.
Sometimes we don’t adore God because we see Him for His influence rather than His Lordship. Take some time to speak out loud the truth of His majesty and grace. Let your heart partner with truth and break ties with lies.
What have you not been giving God credit for? How have you robbed Him of the adoration He deserves? Ask God to produce gladness in your heart as you shift your posture toward His goodness.