Discover His heart: He welcomes our worship as He watches over His flock
@ Psalm 95
“Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.” (1-3) When we think about God’s greatness, there’s so much praise to give Him that sometimes we just have to get rowdy with it, joyfully shouting to Him because of our salvation, because He alone changed everything for us. When we really consider this fact, it’s hard to contain or hold our joy, so why do we often do just that – contain our joy? Maybe we’re just not taking the time to consider His greatness.
Just the other day I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and apparently, I looked like it. A friend of mine looked at me and said something to the effect, “Phyllis, you’ve got to get your praise on.” While the challenges I was facing that day were nothing to bring on a shout, I turned my focus from those challenges to the faithfulness of the Lord, and everything changed.
I started to thank Him for my salvation and His goodness to me. I sang praises to Him for who He was, “a great God, a great King above all gods” with the resources of the universe at His disposal. After all, “He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.” (4-5) My challenges had not yet changed, but the burden of them lifted, and I felt 50 pounds lighter, something, of course, I always like to feel.
Later that day, I knelt to thank Him for my friend and for the joy that came out of the gloom. My heart became quiet. I found no words to say and could only pause in His Holy presence as peace and rest flooded my being that nothing else, no substitute, could ever bring. “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.” (6-7) Tucked there under the folds of my Shepherd’s garment, I was humbled by the knowledge that He was taking care of all my needs, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want..” (Psalm 23:1)
Whether in rowdy praise or in humble adoration, Psalm 95 calls us to worship, “Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully…Come, let us worship and bow down.” Something to consider today.
Moving Forward: Gettin’ my praise on today, moving forward with a song in my heart and a praise on my lips, remembering “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
Tomorrow @ Proverbs 16
Phyllis Benigas 