Make a Joyful Noise

Psalm 100 - Make a joyful noise to the Lord

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! 
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God's presence with singing! 
Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! 
Give thanks to him, bless his name! 
For the Lord is good; 
his steadfast love endures for ever, 
and his faithfulness to all generations.

When I listen to Luke say his prayers, it is usually with a high degree of enthusiasm and often he sings them rather than says them.  He likes to talk to God with the joy of a little boy, just like Psalm 100.  We have our prayers for bedtime, we thank God for our food and for wonderful things we enjoy each day.  It is very humbling to see someone embrace fully joyful worship.

It did get me thinking that perhaps he is on the right track for him, and I think that nature and the world around us also praises with the same exuberance and joy.  Birds, flowers and trees in their riot of color, texture and song praise their Creator.  The roaring rivers, the rushing waterfalls and the endless waves add their notes to the endless song.  Even the seemingly senseless barking of my blind dog plays a role, as they are all creations of the Creator's hand.  

Our senses are gifts which allow us to experience the world around us.  Many would argue they are genetically selected functions which enhance the survival of our species, and yes to some degree they do fulfill that function (not was well for us as for some animals but we have other advantages sometimes).  I would argue they also serve a purpose for the survival of our souls and spirits - they allow us to sense and embrace the world around us in ways that feeds our spiritual selves, and brings us closer to God.  I do not believe that nature and all her wonders are meant to be a distraction from God, but rather a reminder of just how magnificent the hand is that can bring us beauty, wonder and joy. 

Spring, for those of us lucky enough to enjoy it as a season, brings hope from a dark dormant season, it brings life new and renewed, and it allows us after many months of monochromatic living to burst into a multicolored riot for the senses.  The world, after the silence of winter, bursts forth in joyful noise with the works of the Creator.  Just as my little boy bursts out in joyful praise, so do we when we allow the spirit of joyful praise into our worldm, into our lives and allow it to feed the gardens of our souls.  Let the birds sing, let the flowers bloom, let the new life that is waiting come forth and fill us with a joyful noise.

Be brightly blessed, always and in all ways!