Shout to the Lord

Friday, October 29, 2010 (8:49 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

We seem to be having a real slow start here this morning. Would a difference have been made if I had actually gotten up four hours ago when I first heard ♫Shout to the Lord♫ singing to me? Only You would know the answer to that!

(10:00 a.m.)

Finally my heart, soul and mind have joined my body here with You. After quite awhile of searching the lyrics of the song and matching them up with a Psalm (98:4) I just wasn’t ‘feeling’ it! I tried singing to You, but my heart truly wasn’t in it.

Ah, but You being the good GOD that You are kept prompting me to dig deeper. Continuing to search more of the phrase “Shout to the Lord”, I came to Psalm 100. It wasn’t until landing upon The Message version that I could give You an honest, wholehearted “Yes, Lord!”

“On your feet now – applaud GOD! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into His presence. Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD. He made us; we didn’t make Him. We’re His people, His well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: ‘Thank You!’ Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him. For GOD is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.”

What a difference a few words can make! Not being able to honestly ♫Shout to the Lord♫ at the time, just thinking of applauding You was something I could definitely get behind. I know I am to “Be joyful and sing as you come in to worship the LORD!” (Psalm 100:2 CEV) yet sometimes I get stuck at the doorway of Your throne-room, not wanting to pretend to be feeling something that I’m not. While I understand that being obedient has little to do with our feelings, I don’t want to fall into the trap of just going through the motions of praise and worship. You deserve so much more than mere lip service!

Saturday, October 30, 2010 (1:21 a.m.)

Lord God,

How I thank You for not letting me fall into that trap. Although I never made it back here to finish up the time started with You, You were never far from my thoughts throughout the day.

Thank You Lord, that there was a request for prayer from our daughter. What an honor and a privilege it is to be invited in to share another’s heart and concerns. Thank You Lord. Thank You.

And now Most Blessed Lord, is the point I wanted to make all those hours ago. The thought of bringing You a gift of laughter changed my whole earlier attitude. Just thinking about it made me smile. Even though a myriad of blessings abound for me every single day, I sometimes find it difficult to truly “Be joyful”. But bringing You a gift of laughter? That’s something I can do!

Reading in verse four that we are to “Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’ Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him” encourages me. “Thank You God” often comes readily for me. And even in that I thank You!

Thank You that You ARE “sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever” (v.5). Thank You that You love us and in return we get to love You. What another gift of grace that is! Thank You Lord! I love You. J Amen!

(569 words ~ 2:01 a.m.)