A Challenge To Gladness

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (Ps 100:1-2 AV)

As I was reading this psalm, I had the initial thought this is how we should always approach God.  No matter life’s circumstances, or so I thought, we should always come into the presence with singing.  Then, I reflected on the entire book of psalms. There are definitely psalms of distress.  Not every set of circumstances can be turned into an opportunity for gladness.  At least not at once.  That being said, one wonders how much of a goal the above command should be.  When I read this psalm, which is one of my favorites, I saw the above command as a challenge more than a direct imperative.  I saw it as an encouragement to strive towards gladness and praise no matter the situation.  When dark days are upon the soul, if we strive towards gladness and praise, even if we don’t fully arrive, it would be better had we not striven at all.

To further this thought, the Hebrew word for gladness means mirth, joy, or gaiety.  Again, this should be a goal every day no matter our circumstances.  It is an admirable goal.  One that should be our reality.  Thinking of this, even more, I cannot help but think of our older saints.  They seem to get it more than most.  One of the most enjoyable ministries I had was a monthly luncheon with our widows and widowers.  It eventually turned into all our seasoned saints.  We had a good group.  We would meet at the Ponderosa for lunch and then spend an hour or so talking about the good old days.  There were so many stories.  So many hilarious anecdotes of hardships or difficult times.  At their age, they would have every reason to complain about every ache and pain.  Two of our widows were recently widowed.  They would have every reason to shed tears.  However, our luncheons did not go that way.  Smiles and chuckles, often erupting into full-blown laughter, were the norm.  I think they had lived most of their lives and the few short years they had left were in anticipation of what awaited them in glory.

When we are down, this verse just might help.  It won’t take away our circumstances.  Life may not change.  We may still have to endure until the morning.  But when the morning comes, there are new mercies every day.  When our seasoned saints get out of bed, there is a whole routine that follows.  There are ointments to apply.  There are tons of pills to take.  Getting ready for the morning takes almost the whole morning.  Just about the time the morning routine is done, it is time to start the evening routine.  Yet, there is much to be thankful for.  Serving the LORD with gladness may not take the pain away, but it might just make the pain a little more tolerable.