We hear about a positive way of connecting with the Lord in Psalm 100: “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God. It is he that 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.”
We are an ungrateful lot. Through His creation God has given us so much. He truly sees us as “his people, and the sheep of his pasture”.
On the other hand, He has given us much responsibility. In Genesis 1:27-28 (NRSV) the inspired writer says, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…’”
We tend to forget that we are in this ‘subduing the world thing’ with our creator, our Lord and God. In many ways mankind has been fruitful. It has certainly multiplied and is filling the earth, but helping God bring the world under control is where we slow down.
The jury is still out on our subduing it. It is in our staying connected with God and praising and thanking Him that we fail. Yes, attending church on Sunday is certainly a good start, but our relationship with Him needs to be ongoing and constant. Most of what happens in our lives takes place between Sundays.
We must find ways to nourish ourselves in the Lord every day. In doing so we must allow His influence to find a place in all of life’s moments. In our darkest moments we must find a way to “come into his presence with singing.”
Jesus is our example. Even in Jesus’ suffering on the cross, God was preparing Him to come and sit at His right hand. Through our faith in Christ Jesus, we too can have the assurance that God is with us forever and we will be raised up on our last day.
When we truly turn to God and trust in Him, our prayer for all our needs can be a constant one. We can simply continuously give Him thanks and praise and worship Him with gladness. The background of our thoughts can be a joyful song to Him. As the psalmist sung, “His steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”