“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you His servant, praise the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 113:3 NIV)
Servants can sing praise to their Master when they trust Him. They sing praise when they are assured that He is good and His intentions are good. We, as servants of the Living God, can rejoice in the steadfast nature of their Lord.
I can’t help but think of Exodus and the instructions for indentured servants completing their tenure in a good master’s service.
“But if a servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and my children and I do not want to go out free, then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be a servant for life.” (Exodus 21:5-6 NIV)
There is a unique joy in fully committing to a good master, in promising the remainder of our life and trusting His design for our future.
Yesterday, I randomly remember the childhood concept of ‘slave for the day’. Did anyone else do this with their siblings? We’d place some mindless bet or make some crazy trade and the prize was the only thing we truly possessed: free will. The loser (most typically me) agreed to be a slave for the day to the winner (typically my big brother). Basically, it meant he could boss me around and get me to do his chores or fetch his snacks. I shared the memory with my daughter and she agreed; ‘slave for the day’ child’s play has probably been cancelled, but she and her brother had similar exchanges.
We all fight the desire to be served, don’t we? Perhaps our best defense against that downstairs agenda within our flesh is found in finally, fully surrendering to God? He’s good. He’s worthy. He can be trusted. We can even sing His praises while we serve Him.
“and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6 NIV)
Lord, we are glad to serve You, glad to live in Your house and be Your people. We will not go out free. We will happily stay and sing Your praises for all eternity. Amen.