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.
Psalm 100
Discouragement is a real and present danger.
We all have periods of time in our lives where we do not feel valuable—we feel overlooked and underused. Or maybe we feel overused, stressed and maxed out. Either way, in times such as these we do not want to work and we do not want to serve. We don’t have a desire to put others before ourselves.
Additionally, we may go through times where worship is a chore rather than a delight. We lack the feeling of joy and the anticipation of growth and drawing closer to God on Sunday morning. We don’t have a desire to glorify the Almighty.
What can be done? How can we renew our hearts with a desire to serve with gladness? How can we renew our hearts with a desire to sing in the presence of God? The 100th Psalm prompts us to remember:
We belong to Him.
He made us. We are His. We are His people. We are His sheep. He is our Shepherd.
We are never alone! We are never overlooked! The Creator is proud of His creation. The Father loves His children. The Shepherd protects His sheep. We belong to Him!
He is good.
What does it mean to say that God is good? How does God being good make Him praiseworthy?
Among many other things, based on the context of Psalm 100, to say that God is good is to say that He will always do what is right. He will always make the right choice. Even the best of us are wicked. We know sin and darkness. Not God. God will always give us just what we need, what is best for us, because He can be trusted to always do what is right. He is good!
He is faithful.
What does it mean to say that God is faithful and how does that make Him praiseworthy?
Our God will always be there. There is never a time or situation where He will be delayed or where He will forget or where He will simply choose to be giving someone else His attention instead of us. We do those things—get held up by circumstances out of our control…forget promises made…chose to help one acquaintance to the detriment of another. Not God. He can always be counted on. He is faithful and trustworthy. He demonstrates perfect and divine fidelity at all times. He can be relied upon as long as people exist. He is faithful!
Knowing who God is—what He is like—provides much needed encouragement for the weary.
