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I Was Glad
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." (Psalms 122:1)
Even though worshiping God was a requirement of the Law, with these words David shows us that he approached every opportunity to worship and serve God with great joy and anticipation.
Today, we serve the same God that David did, and like David, we have a duty and responsibility to worship Him. But do we have the same zeal? Do we sometimes find ourselves saying or thinking, "I have to go to church?" Would we have the same attitude toward a vacation? Which one of us would say, "I have to go to Hawaii?" When we miss a service due to illness, does it bother us? Do we have an empty, unfulfilled feeling, or are we glad that we have an excuse not to go? If we only view worship as an obligation, we are just wasting our time and missing out on one of the greatest experiences this life has to offer.
We all like to associate with people who are genuinely concerned about us and treat us well. We look forward to being around them.
One of the blessings of coming together to worship God is that we are surrounded by just such people, our brothers and sisters in Christ. But the greatest blessing is that we are in the presence of our God, who is concerned for our well being and does so much for us.
Consider just a few of the things that God does for us.
First of all -
GOD LOVES US
For God so loves the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Throughout our lives we will have people who genuinely love us, yet without fail, there will be times when they will disappoint us, because their actions don't always show the love that they profess. But God never disappoints us. His actions are always for our own good. His love never fails.
GOD CARES FOR US
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Pet. 5:7-8)
What a great comfort it is to know that when nothing seems to be going right in our lives and we are being bombarded on every side with trouble, the creator of the universe knows all that we are going through and cares about us. Friends may fail us, but God never will.
GOD PROVIDES FOR US
Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... (Jas. 1:17)
God has blessed us richly, both physically and spiritually. He provides for us everything necessary for our life on this earth, and more importantly, everything we need for eternity.
GOD FORGIVES US
For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)
Sin is the greatest problem facing mankind, because all have sinned (Rom. 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). But a merciful God has provided for us to be free from the guilt of sin and stand justified in His sight, through the death of Jesus on the cross. He paid the debt that we could never pay, if we will only be obedient to His word.
GOD GIVES US HOPE
And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. (1 John 2:25)
God, who cannot lie, has made us this great promise, allowing us to live in hope, a hope that sustains us no matter what trials we face in this life.
Promises are only as good as the one who makes them. Some people are very good at making promises, but come up a little short when it comes time to fulfill them. Our God always has and always will fulfill His promises.
Our God loves us, provides for our ever need, and has made it possible for us to live eternally in His presence when our short life on this earth is over.
What possible reason could we have for not approaching every opportunity to gather with others of like precious faith to worship Him and praise His high and holy name, with joy and gladness? To do anything less would show that we are ungrateful for all of His blessings and unfit for heaven.
- Doug Berry
