Tuesday, September 3, 2013 -- Making A Joyful Noise
Tuesday September 3, 2013
I love to sing. From the time I was a little girl I’ve always been a singer. When I was in Grade 1 I lived in the country in Ontario and went to a little school where all the grades were in one room (Grades 1-8). There was a coat room and a bathroom just at the back of the classroom. I finished my work early, asked to go to the washroom (because I was bored) and while I was out there I just sang and sang. When I finally came back into the classroom everyone clapped for me. I didn’t know they could all hear me singing. A couple of years later I won a prize in a singing contest for students from the schools in that area. All through my life I’ve enjoyed singing.
In the middle of the Bible is a songbook – it’s the songbook of the people of God from thousands of years ago. Many of the songs were written by King David who also loved to sing. There are also songs by other musicians that worked for David. These songs tell stories. They praise God. They remember all the wonderful things God did for His people, even though His people were not faithful to Him. Some of these songs are angry. Some are sad. Many speak about God’s power and strength. They celebrate God’s creation. Quite a few talk about God’s unfailing love. Some helped the people ask God for forgiveness when they had done wrong. Some are quite short and others are quite long.
I have many favorites but one of the best known is Psalm 100 (NKJV).
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
This Psalm tells me to do things like “shout for joy”, “worship the Lord with gladness” “come before his presence with singing”. Even though I sang as a child I didn’t sing before God with joy and gladness. I thought God was mean and fearful. I thought I had to do things to keep God happy so bad things wouldn’t happen to me. I didn’t know the truth about God that this Psalm teaches me – that God is good.
This Psalm reminds me that God made us. It tells me how precious we are because God chooses us to belong to Him. When I’m troubled or afraid or times are hard for me, this Psalm reminds me that God cares for me just like a shepherd takes care of sheep – finding them food and water and preparing a safe place for them. God is good – always. God cares for me – always. God’s goodness will never change. Life isn’t always easy and our circumstances can be difficult but we can always sing for joy because God, the God who made us, is always with us. His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Let’s enter into God’s love and joy today. Let’s remember that He is good and will always be good to us, particularly when our life is hard. Let’s invite God to care for us today.
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