🏳️‍🌈✝️ Unreserved Praise

Written by Leanne Janzen

06/09/2018

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“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” - Psalm 100:1-3

A few years ago, I attended a World Cup qualifying match with some friends of mine. These friends weren’t just any regular soccer enthusiasts — they were part of a fan-organized cheering squad. They sang songs and chanted, drummed, waved flags, and most of all, yelled their support for their team. The entire game. I don’t think I sat down for about three hours — nor did I have a voice once it was all over. It was an incredible experience!

I wonder if that’s the kind of enthusiasm David is talking about in Psalm 100. He calls us to worship God with gladness and joy. It’s a kind of flag-waving, drum-beating, song-singing kind of praise! The excitement in his words is palpable!

But how often do we come to God with unreserved praise in our hearts? It’s so easy to allow guilt, discouragement, or apathy to cloud our worship. So much so that we forget the truth that “the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

It’s not wrong to bring our sorrow and desperation to God — in fact He wants us to! But sometimes, we can focus so much of our attention on our own situation that we forget the incredible God we serve.

So let’s make time to shout our praises to God and to sing our appreciation to Him — for His goodness, love, and faithfulness in our lives. Because that’s something to celebrate!

Thank you, Father, for who you are! Thank you for your goodness, love, and faithfulness! Thank you that I am yours. You are a good and wonderful Father. Amen.

Go Deeper — In your quiet time today, sing one of your favorite worship songs to Jesus. He will love to hear your joyful noise!

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