In this new series of “Joy Unspeakable,” we give God the praise for bringing us into this new month, and the first part of this series shall be titled “Serve the Lord with Gladness.”

What does it mean to serve the Lord with gladness? To serve the Lord with gladness implies the adequacy of coming into the presence of the Lord in a positive mood, in a cheerful mood, in a mood of praise, because gladness itself is a feeling of delight which is characterized by happiness and a deep joy.

Serving the Lord with gladness also implies the attitude with which we are to approach our service to God, the attitude with which we are to approach our worship to God, because serve can also be identified as worship.

So from where we read this morning, it seems there might have been a reason for the psalmist to ask us to serve the Lord with gladness. Even though many serve the Lord, it seems only a few have the understanding of serving the Lord with gladness.

No wonder the Bible says in Psalm 95 verse 1, “O come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us SHOUT joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” In other words, no form of service or worship should be done with sadness, frowning, worries, or with mood swings.

Our heart must posture itself to become a heart of joy and gratitude because this is how we are going to reflect what we understand by God’s faithfulness and goodness towards us.

God has never willed for anyone to come before Him with sorrow because it belittles God when we serve Him with a sorrowful mind. For Jesus said in Matthew 6:31, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?'” for your Father in heaven knows what you need, and that is why you must not worship God with worries.

Serving the Lord should be a source of joy to all believers and not a burden. When we are called to worship, we should not see it to be boring but rather exciting, because our attitude in worship, in service reflects how close we are with God.

No king can be happy when their servants serve them with worries on their face. The expectation is for you to serve them with gladness, and if you will not take my word for it, the Bible says in Nehemiah 2:1-3:

King Artaxerxes noticed Nehemiah’s sad expression and concluded that it was caused by sorrow of heart, and such a person ought not to be in the presence of the king. That said, if that can happen with the king of the earth, how much more our heavenly Father, the King of all kings. We are not expected to serve Him with anything less than gladness, for He knows what you need.

So the question now is, when you worship, when you praise, when you serve, when you give thanks, is your service coming to God with gladness? Are you serving the Lord with gladness?

We must understand that it is a privilege to serve the Lord – a song says, “It is a great thing to serve the Lord, walking in the light of the Lord.” So it is a privilege to serve the Lord of heaven and earth.

Hence the reason we cannot afford to resist the idea of knowing God as joyful and exciting, because according to Romans 14:17, the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

So every strong opposition to our service should not be condoned but rather defeated so that they will not steal away your joy. Serve the Lord with gladness today. Come into His presence with singing, for He is God. He made us and we are the sheep of His pasture.

In the book of Acts 5:40-42, we saw how the apostles served the Lord with gladness. They would not let any form of persecution steal away their joy, for their joy is unspeakable. So instead of weeping and denial, they rejoiced that they were thought of as worthy to worship Jesus with gladness.

Worship should be a lifestyle, and that is why we must not confine ourselves to a place or time, to a situation of any sort, but rather have our worship be a continuous act of coming into God’s presence with joy.

Worship the Lord with joy today and forevermore. For those who serve the Lord with gladness cannot be manipulated by the devil no matter what comes their way. They cannot be robbed of their joy.

Their worship will be a heartfelt worship expressed through genuine gladness in the Lord. So as we are summoned to serve the Lord with gladness, to worship the Lord with joy, our gathering must not be a gathering of complaint, murmuring like the Israelites in wilderness and excuses but of joy that is inexpressible.

We cannot belittle ourselves to the standard the devil wants us to be at, and that is why serving the Lord with gladness is essential, because when we refuse to serve God with gladness, then we will serve the enemies with bitterness.

But when we serve the Lord with gladness, we will be a people that will attract others to also serve and worship the Lord with gladness.

Do not let that worry bring frowning as a pollution to your environment of worship. Do not give in to what the doctor says to ruin your service to your Maker. It does not matter what your situation may say. Serve the Lord with gladness, for that is where you will derive an inexpressible and unfiltered joy.

 

Prayer:

Thank You Lord for the privilege to worship You.

I receive the heart of service with gladness in Jesus name. Amen.