“Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power.”
When Jesus comes to rule the earth, when his strong scepter stretches forth from Zion, His people will volunteer freely and willingly to serve Him. We will volunteer freely, without being pressed into service. We will not volunteer under compulsion, nothing else will compete for our attention or draw us away from serving the Lord our king. We will not serve out of self-disciplined determination. Rather, our motivation will be full and free, like the sun shining forth at dawn, like dew that saturates the ground. We will sign up for duty – not for pay, or to gain some other desire we think might result from serving. We will volunteer freely, willingly, gladly!
We will volunteer freely, in the day of His power. We are called to serve Him today in the same way. We will volunteer freely and gladly then, and we should volunteer freely and gladly now. We shall do it then perfectly, we do it now imperfectly. The freedom of my service to God ebbs and flows. My whole hearted, free, and glad service of the Lord is not perfect like it will be in the day of His power.
The difference is in my view of His power. Now, my view is by faith, not by sight; I see as through a mirror dimly. Then I shall see by sight and thus the freedom of my volunteering will be as pure and unalterable as my view of His power will be. Now I must walk by faith, I must fight the fight of faith. As I make progress in this battle, the freedom of my service, that is, the willingness that comes from my true desire and pleasure in serving Him, grows stronger. As I retreat, the freedom of my service dries up and I either stop serving, or I serve, as it were, under compulsion and with grumbling.
The difference then, between the kind of volunteering that comes from a free and genuine desire to gladly serve, and one that is done out of compulsion, is the degree of clarity and directness of view, of the glory of God and the power of Christ my king.
Therefore I pray, O Lord, open my eyes. Let me see your glory. Grant me a stronger faith. Grant me victory in my daily battles for faith that I might see your power and volunteer with the freedom that comes from truly wanting you, and desiring to serve you freely. Be careful, O my soul, for it is the enemies of the Lord that serve him with feigned obedience (Psalm 66: 3). So fight the fight of faith and volunteer freely, serving the Lord with gladness.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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