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Serving With Gladness

Serving With Gladness

By: Juliet Constantine

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:2-4)


Do you find joy and gladness serving the Lord? We’ve often heard the term “serve the Lord”, but what does it mean to serve the Lord? Now, David added an adjective– with gladness - which shows us how or the degree to which we should serve the Lord.

To serve the Lord is to recognize Jesus’ Lordship over our lives; and out of gratitude, give ourselves to Him to be used by Him. He owns us, and everything we have belongs to Him. We are His servants, the creatures of His hand. Knowing this, you may feel that you are a slave, looking forward to the day when you will be released. However, we are assured that we are of a special kind. Knowing this, David said we are to serve Him with gladness – we are to be joyful and happy to be His slave. As light-bearers on our way to heaven we are to reflect to the world the light of Christ shining upon us. Why? Unlike slave masters of old, Jesus is a kind Master and in His presence we find the fullness to all our joys. Additionally, He does not call us slaves but we are His friends, and heirs together with Him. He is our brother. He is good and His mercy is everlasting and His truth is relevant to all generations.

For most of us Christians, this truth we believed; but sometimes it is not reflected in our attitude when we are called upon to serve. It is sad to say even in our worship life, the gladness that should characterize our praise seems damp, cold and lifeless. Our singing, our sharing and receiving of His word, our tolerance of others seems to be a mirrored reflection of our lives outside of Church time. Even in our secular activities, at times, we seemed not to be serving the Lord, and others, with gladness. Whatever we do or wherever we are, we are to do all things to honor God, serving with gladness.

Christian Author Ellen White reminded us that “If we do represent Christ, we shall make His service appear attractive, as it really is. Christians who gather up gloom and sadness to their souls, and murmur and complain, are giving to others a false representation of God and the Christian life. They give the impression that God is not pleased to have His children happy, and in this they bear false witness against our heavenly Father.”(SC pg 116).

Serving the Lord with gladness does not mean our worship will be irreverent and loud. Quite the contrary, we will worship our God from hearts of thanksgiving, and our praise will be real. Let us leave the thorns alone that causes us to murmur and complain - wounding us; and gather instead an atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving – the roses, lilies and pinks – as we serve with gladness.

Oh my Father in Heaven, I am guilty as charged. Please help me to serve You with joy and gladness always. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)

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