Psalm 100:2 - Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
There are certain things that are more natural for some people than for others. Whether it’s personality, cultural upbringing, or by example, there are people who express joy naturally, and others who seem joyless, even if they really are joyful on the inside. For the introverted among us, any kind of outward expression can feel forced or uncomfortable. For those of us who are extroverted, holding back can feel the same way.
Wherever you fall on the spectrum of personality, this verse calls all of us to respond to God in specific ways. The first has to do with how we serve God, and the second has to do with how we approach God. Given that we are all meant to serve the Lord our God, it’s a good idea to know how he wants us to do that. What kind of attitude should we have? What kind of countenance should be upon us? In addition to that, we should ask the same questions for how we come to the Lord each day. Do we come into his presence out of obligation? Do we come with reluctance? Do we come in silence?
In this verse we get the answers to those questions. First, when it comes to serving the Lord, the call here is to do that with gladness. Imagine a moment when you felt joy in your heart and it affected your outward expression. That same feeling of gladness is what we are called to feel when we serve God. So how then do we feel that way, rather than feeling burdened by service?
We find the answer when we ask the question, “Why am I serving God right now?” If the answer is, “I’m supposed to serve him” then you will find that your service to him will be all duty with little delight. If your answer is something like, “I’m serving him because he loves me, he has already served me more than I deserve and he’s worthy of my service and so much more”, then you will be serving him with love and gratitude as your foundation, rather than simply obedience. Obedience is necessary and good, but it must have love in it, and in that love, gladness will spring up out of it, and that gladness will be visible to others in the work that you do.
All of this applies to coming into the Lord’s presence as well. We come with singing. Singing isn’t the most comfortable expression for some people, and yet the Lord calls all of us to it. Why is that? Singing is like speaking, but because of the musical quality of it, it changes how the words are expressed and how they are received. Think about this. Why do we sing happy birthday rather than just saying it to people? There is joy in it! There is enthusiasm! There is a tremendous joy in it!
This is how we come to God. We come to him with a heart of gladness, thanksgiving and when we feel that within us, we express it. We sing. We praise. We magnify. It’s as if we are coming to God remembering what he has done and expecting him to do great things. We can sing together as many have throughout history, whether they are going to battle, having a festival or simply reflecting together through song on what the Lord has done. Have joy in the God of hope today, and be strengthened in the gladness that you have in him.
