Ready: “
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” – Psalm 100:2
Set:
Often the message of the sports world is that you need to promote yourself and prioritize your own interests. According to this message, that’s how you get more playing time, get recruited, and get ahead. The counterculture message of the Bible is that joy and fulfillment is found not in being self-focused but in serving; serving the Lord and serving those around you.
Psalm 100:2 directs us to “serve the Lord with gladness.” In the context of this psalm, it’s clear that serving God is parallel to worshiping Him. We exalt the Lord and demonstrate our devotion to Him as we joyfully serve His mission and purposes. That’s what Romans 12:1 calls us to do: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.”
Because we have experienced the Lord’s mercy through what Jesus did for us in rescuing us from our sin and restoring us to the God who loves us, we gladly worship and serve Him. This is about nothing less than offering ourselves entirely to Him. Serving the Lord is not confined to what happens in our church or other organized ministry activities. It involves living for the Lord every moment of every day, in every dimension of our lives, with all of who we are and what we do.
Rather than giving in to the self-promoting mindset that may be around you as an athlete or coach, worship the Lord through embracing a serving mindset. Whatever your role is on your team, be fully devoted to serving Christ and His kingdom purposes. Serve the interests of your teammates or players, being genuinely glad in their success. Make it your daily prayer that the Lord would be exalted through all you say and do.
Go:
In what areas of your life is God convicting you of being self-focused and moving you toward serving Him?
What have you seen the Lord do as you serve Him with gladness?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Lord, You are worthy to be worshiped with all that I am! I desire to serve You and serve other people with gladness. I pray that You would be exalted through my devotion to You today. Amen.”