Finding a sense of purpose and direction can be challenging in a world that often seems disoriented, chaotic, and overwhelming. We are constantly bombarded with news of a world seemingly on the edge of insanity, where inhumanity is mistaken for progress, greed is celebrated as economic advancement, and power drives us relentlessly toward destruction. Psalm 100 offers a reflective invitation to reorient our worship and perspective in this disorienting world. Let us explore the rich insights of Psalm 100 and how it guides us in reorienting our worship amid a disorienting world.
A Tragic Story
To understand the significance of Psalm 100, let’s start with an illustration of disorientation. A tragic story recounted an 81-year-old man who went for a walk in the woods near his home and became disoriented. His rescuers eventually found him, and despite being just 700 feet from the steps of his house, he lost his way and ultimately succumbed to the cold weather, dying from hypothermia. This heartbreaking story is a metaphor for the disorientation many of us feel today. So close to home, yet so far away from safety and stability.
Psalm 100
Renowned theologian Walter Brueggeman once observed, “Our world is teetering on the edge of insanity, and we with it.” Too often, we struggle to maintain our sanity amidst the chaos. In such a disorienting world, Psalm 100 is an anchor of sanity. It beckons us to come “before his presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2b) and to “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4a). In other words, it invites us to leave behind the disorienting world and enter into a space of worship, praise, and thanksgiving.
The Inclusive Invitation
One of the remarkable aspects of Psalm 100 is its inclusivity. It extends an invitation to all, without exception. Just as when we’re invited to an event, we might inquire, “Who is going to be there?” Psalm 100 declares in verse 1a, “Make a joyful noise, all ye lands.” This revolutionary Psalm invites people from all nations, backgrounds, and circumstances to enter into the presence of Almighty God for worship. No one is left out. God’s invitation is extended to you whether you feel like an outcast, forgotten, or misunderstood. You are still remembered.
Knowing Before Entering
Before we can fully embrace this invitation, there are essential truths we must grasp, and they revolve around verse 3 of Psalm 100. In this context, “knowing” transcends factual information; it calls for deep devotion and understanding.
You might say you “know” you are married to your spouse based on legal documents and symbols like wedding rings. Yet, if you were to claim you were going on a date with someone else, it would create confusion and doubt about your understanding of marriage. Similarly, in our Christian lives, we often possess knowledge about God but fail to live it out in fidelity to Him.
To honestly “know” God, we must understand:
- The Lord He is God – The name for God here is JEHOVAH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God of the Old Testament, the God of Israel. Even more powerful is that Jehovah is the personal name of God.
- The Lord He is God Who Made Us – God is personal, so much so that he made you and shaped and fashioned you. This is counter-cultural to all the nations around Israel. Each country had its god; they composed and shaped their gods in their image. They would carve the block of wood or stone into whatever image they chose. This psalm is a radical departure from the pagan cultures around them. (Is 45:9-13; Phil 1:6)
- We Are His People, and He is Our Shepherd –Too often, we wander off and become disoriented; we’ve lost sight of the eternal and become consumed with the temporary. You are not without hope. We must remember that we are his people, and he is our Shepherd. (Luke 15:2-6)
Reorienting Worship
A life without praise is turned inward, self-reliant, and marked by pride and anxiety. When we wander away from the invitation to “Enter in” to the gates and courts of God, we miss out on the richness of a life of worship.
I have often driven to my parent’s home in western New York, and just before you pass from Pennsylvania into New York, you will see a large sign that says “Niagara Falls.” If you didn’t know better, you would think Niagara Falls could be found somewhere in an obscure town in rural Pennsylvania, and you would get out at a little outpost that was an information center, thinking you had just experienced all the glory and grandeur that Niagara Falls had to offer.
The stories you had heard would certainly not match your expectations, and you would leave to go back home, disillusioned and disoriented.
Too often, as Christians, we settle for the “glory” the world has to offer, signs that promise a good time, health, wealth, and happiness but never deliver. All the while, our heavenly father is extending the invitation to us to Enter in, to come before his presence, to live a life of thanksgiving and praise.
Every day, remind yourself of these truths:
- God is God, and we are not.
- God is shaping us; we are not shaping Him.
- We are His people, and He will always be our Shepherd.
Conclusion
Amid a disorienting world, Psalm 100 offers us an invitation and a roadmap to reorient our worship. It calls us to know God deeply and personally, to enter into His presence with thanksgiving and praise, and to embrace our identity as His people. By doing so, we can experience reorienting worship that transcends the world’s chaos and finds its anchor in Almighty God’s unchanging truth and presence.
Josh Cehulik 