Infinite Joy Or Mud Pies
In Psalm 145—probably my favorite Psalm—David proclaims, “I will extol You, my God and King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever.” Notice what he doesn’t say: “I’ll bless Your name when I feel like it,” or “when the lights are dim and the music is just right.” No—David’s declaration is unwavering: I will extol You…I will bless Your name forever and ever.
David had his whole life in view—past, present, and future—as he declared his intention to worship without end. Why such resolve? Because we were created to worship.
Worship isn’t just something we do on Sunday mornings—it’s the posture of our hearts and the orientation of our lives. What we center our lives around, what captures our deepest affections, reveals what we treasure most.
In that sense, worship is not optional—it’s inevitable. We are worshippers by nature. Every single one of us devotes ourselves to something or someone, whether we realize it or not. The only question is: Who or what are we worshipping? Our time, attention, and desires always flow toward whatever we believe will satisfy us or give our lives meaning.
You were made to glorify and enjoy God. If your worship is misplaced—if it’s directed at anything less than the eternal, living God—it will ultimately leave you empty. But when your heart is captivated by the beauty and worth of Christ, worship becomes not just your duty, but your deepest delight.
That truth—that we are always worshipping something—should give us pause. Is there anything in my life right now that is truly worthy of eternal praise? In reality, nothing in the created world deserves to be blessed forever and ever—only the Creator Himself. Nothing and no one but Jesus is even worthy of our worship today.
C.S. Lewis famously observed, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
We may not be making literal mud pies, but how easily we fall for idols—things that offer only fleeting joy. Jesus alone gives infinite joy—joy worth worshipping now and for eternity. Don’t settle. Don’t be far too easily pleased. Fight to fix your eyes on Christ. He offers so much more.
We were made for eternal worth and worship, and we’re crazy to settle for less. Nothing compares to a life centered on glorifying the God who came down, entered our world, and gave His life for ours. Jesus, though the Almighty King, humbled Himself, lived, died, and rose again to provide us with life—and life in abundance (John 10:10).
So, how should we respond? With awe. With worship. With lives fully surrendered. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:15, those who belong to Christ no longer live for themselves, but for Him—and that life is marked by worship.
Today, live for Him. Tomorrow, live for Him. A year from now, live for Him. As you surrender to Him day by day, your life will be shaped by His glory and filled with His joy.
Live a life that matters—one centered on worshipping Jesus forever and ever.
To borrow from Lewis, “Don’t settle for mud pies in the slum when Christ offers infinite joy.”
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
