“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing” (Psa. 100:1-2). These are strange words when one considers all the trials David faced. They began at the slaying of Goliath, continued for years as a fugitive from the jealous wrath of King Saul and then the rebellion lead by his son after he became king. Joyful shouts? Serving with gladness? Singing in His presence? How can one possibly find joy and gladness in the midst of all of this adversity?
Yet David did. Look at the thoughts which follow the opening words of this psalm. As you think about them, make application as to how you can find true joy in the midst of all that has happened to us in the midst of dealing with the threat of covid.
True joy comes from exalting Lord as God. “Know that the Lord, He is God.” While we may have become disheartened over the months because we have had little control in most aspects of our lives, one eternal truth has not changed. Our Father is greater than any trial we face. How do we face our Goliaths? A shepherd boy stood before a man almost twice his size and proclaimed, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts….This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand….For the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands” (1 Sam. 17:45-47). Knowing that God is in charge will always result in our victory, and our response will be the coming into His presence with joyful singing.
True joy comes from realizing He has made us. Continue reading that psalm. “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.” Whenever we think that our happiness and fulfilment come from our dealing with adversity, we are doomed to failure. He is the Creator, and we are the created ones. We are not in charge and looking inward will never bring happiness and fulfilment. David destroyed the giant but not from his own skills as a warrior. Those who were warriors in that day cowered in fear of the battle. David knew that the Creator was the One who fought against his enemy. The result is joyful praise and thanksgiving.
True joy comes from coming before God and praising Him. Look carefully at David’s words. We must make joyful noise to the Lord; come before His presence with singing; enter into His gates with thanksgiving; enter into His courts with praise; be thankful and bless His name. Covid has robbed us of assembling over the past several months, and we have been robbed of coming into His presence and His courts and finding the joy which comes from singing and praising His name as we once did.
We must not let Satan rob us of true joy!