A Heart of Worship

Ps. 100

Ps. 100 describes a heart of worship. "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!" Worship floods spontaneously out of the life. It is that joyful noise that overflows without being polished or rehearsed. Often noises come out of my mouth, but are my noises filled with the joy of the Lord? Am I spontaneous in my worship or do I relegate it to prescribed times and days?

"Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!" But after the spontaneous comes the daily service. Sadly, service that goes on a daily basis can often become a duty and lose that spark of joy. Has mine?  Is my heart full of song as I come into His presence? Worship of the Lord by its very nature is full of joy and music. It is not heavy or burdensome, but a delight.

."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." What are my thoughts in this joyous worship?  Is the goal of my worship to be in His presence, to know Him?  Is my worship my personal connection with the God who made me, who designed and chose me to be His sheep? Is my worship what God has designed it to be?

 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; Bless His name."  As I come expectantly, am I coming thankfully? I can remember times when my heart was not thankful, when I was consumed with the details of life. Situations and circumstances had blotted out my reason for living. But, just like thankfulness eliminates stess, stress destroys thankfulness. Thankfulness is my key to a heart of worship. Am I thankful and blessing His name for what is in my life? Am I resting in His promises?

"For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." Why do I worship at all? Why do I care? Because God is the one who loves me steadfastly with an everlasting love. He is utterly faithful to what He says He is and what He will do. In light of this, how small my stresses seems. How silly to blow them out of proportion! Instead, my worship must be minute by minute focused on the God who has chosen me to be His!

Father,

Give me Your strength to worship thankfully and spontaneously. Help me to rest on Your grace when stresses flood my life. Teach me to worship minute by minute.

In Jesus name,

Amen