Devotional 2-8-08

The Stand

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Psalm 95:1-3, 6)

Make a joyful noise to the Lord. What does that mean, exactly? What does it mean to be joyful in life? Surely Lent, a time of reflection and repentance is not meant to be joyful. Right?

Can I share with you a few joyful moments that I have experienced lately?

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving

I was walking into work a couple of weeks ago, listening to my iPod. The song playing in my head was The Stand by Michael W. Smith. Part of the lyrics of that song say, “I'll stand … in awe of the one who gave it all.” I stood at the edge of a field near our parking lot, watching the sunrise. I was in awe and grateful to God for stopping me in my rush to work so that I could notice His glory. It was joy because it was a moment spent close to God.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Two weeks ago, our dear friend and servant of Christ, Jim Ray, died. Are you surprised that I would mention that in a list of joyful moments? The pain of the loss certainly wasn’t joyful. I miss him intensely, and I think I always will. I learned something important that week, though. God knew how painful it would be for our church to lose this man. For the week between his loss and his funeral, God drew us all close to His heart. In so many ways I saw God’s timing and God’s care for us made manifest. He did not leave us alone. Isn’t there joy in realizing that God loves us all enough to make His presence felt when we needed Him? (And maybe Jim was with God, telling Him, “I’ve got a few things I’m going to let you take care of for me….)

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

It’s Lent. It’s time to think about repentance – turning from our sinful ways and turning toward God. Doesn’t sound very joyful, does it? I don’t imagine that any one of us wants to spend much time considering what we have done wrong and the sins that we have committed, much less admit them to God. What greater joy is there, though, than to know that our sins are forgiven? All of them. No matter how horrible we think they are, God forgives them. Aren’t those words of joy?

Joy. There is joy in our repentance. There is joy in our sadness. There is joy for us because God is close; how can we help but experience joy when God is standing so close? It washes over us; it is grace.

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

It is our blessing that God draws us close so that we can stand before Him, bathed in the grace of His joy. God give us joy, and we cannot help but worshp.

Kim Matthews