Make a Joyful Noise
I sometimes wonder if we are too quiet and reserved in many of our traditional churches. Worship should be the expression of the heart and soul. Psalm 100 says to make a joyful noise to the Lord or shout for joy to the Lord. There is nothing reserved about that. There is an exuberance... a loud declaration of our Christian faith. When we had a few more kids in Sunday School, I used to start by saying good morning. They would answer me back. I would indicate that I couldn’t hear them and tried it again. This time I kind of wished I had ear plugs in. There was an excited, joyful, make-sure-I’m-heard tone to the voice. It is not being tucked away in a prayer closet being careful not to disturb anyone, but rather going to the top of a mountain or even the bell tower and shouting the good news. We don’t like to do things like that and that it makes us uncomfortable. If you just gave birth to a child or are a grandparent or great grandparent, you have a picture ready to show anyone that will allow you to show them off. We don’t’ think twice about it. Shouldn’t we be at least that excited to share Jesus? When I think of make a joyful noise or shout to the Lord for joy, I am much more likely to see the response at a football game than what we might normally see in church. When the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem, David was dancing before God, giving up all earthly restraint. We have to be careful that we are responding in worship and not drawing attention to ourselves. It must come from the heart and not be a contrived response. Note, it doesn’t say to just raise the voice, but to shout for joy... a joy that is grounded in the knowledge of who God is and what He has done. If you go to a ball game, you can tell the difference between the noise that is meant to support your team (which can get very loud) and the joy that comes from being excited for your team and the possibilities. The next time you go to worship, find out what songs you are singing, what they are saying, who they are addressing and then let your heart rejoice. When we sing that hymn we like so much, is it the sound and music or the message that resonates. May your voice declare what your heart and spirit hunger for. Father, Help us to lift our voice to You in praise and worship. You are worthy of all praise. Allelluia! Alleluia! Amen