Be Quiet!

Last week I was at junior high camp at Luther Springs. At the very first worship service the kids were over excited and a bit loud. The counselors were trying to get control of the rowdy group so one of them yelled above the noise, “We’re about to start worship and what does that mean.”

A child raises their hand, “It means be quiet.”

“That’s right it’s time to be quiet.”

In the background I lean towards another pastor and sarcastically say, “I thought worship was when we lift praise to God, but I guess we can forget that… worship means be quiet.”

There is truth to the importance of being quiet during worship and taking time to listen to God. However, it is also a time when we open ourselves to the joy of life given to us in God and that is when we dance, sing, and make a joyful noise to the Lord.

As I’m sure most can imagine we sing a lot of songs at camp. We sing when we wake in the morning. We sing before meals. We sing as we are walking down the path in the woods. We sing around a blazing campfire in the evening. One thing I enjoy about all this singing is that it becomes a part of the norm. The kids will begin to make a joyful noise to the Lord during an everyday task without even noticing.

Giving praise to our God can manifest in many different forms. When we give praise to God in all we say and do – when we find ourselves lifting a joyful noise to the Lord even outside of the formatted worship service. The Spirit weaves into our lives in new and abundant ways. As a result in that quiet time with God, we are able to hear God more clearly.

Psalm 100:1-5
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his 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 forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.