"Sing like never before, Oh! my soul, worship His holy name..."
-Matt Redman, "10,000 Reasons"
I love this picture. These birds look like they are singing their hearts out and flashing out their wings to help lift the tune. They appear as if they are singing just for their Creator and everyone in the forest is going to hear how amazing God is to them. Phenomenal! What would it look like if we stood our ground, with our wings out, singing our individual songs with such pride and joy?
The Bible tells us in Psalm 150:4-6 that back in those days and even today, there were several ways to go about doing this in the literal sense:
"Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!"
The image that comes immediately to mind, for me, are young toddlers banging on pots and pans. Have you ever seen children go to town on instruments and seen the absolute, sheer joy that they are "making music" from their hearts? What about worship bands? Of all the musicians, drummers always look like they're having the best time. I'm sure all of them enjoy worshiping the Lord with their instrument of choice; however, I have a sneaking suspicion that the drummer never lost his or her child-like innocence of banging on those pots and pans from earlier in life.
The question becomes, how do we sing our own individual song? It begins with celebrating our uniqueness. Each of us is completely unique and completely given an original song to sing. Think about this:
"Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised..."
-Psalm 96
First, we are to sing to the Lord, blessing his name. Take a moment and think about how you are thankful to the Lord right now. List at least three things that come to mind immediately. Do you feel a little stirring in your spirit? Next, it says "tell of his salvation from day to day" - what did God save you from? What are your worst nightmares, fears, failures, mistakes; what do you have trouble controlling? Everyone has their own story of how Jesus showed up at just the right time in their life.
For example, the Lord has saved and is continually saving me from doubting myself. One of my biggest challenges is feeling overwhelmed with all that I could do instead of just tackling one thing I can do right now. As one of my best friends reminds me with one of her favorite quotes: "God does not call the equipped; He equips the called."
So, talk about it! Write about it. Think about it. Share it. Share with someone today how once you were lost in ___ and now you're found by Jesus. You're on the road of discovery of understanding your own personal song.
"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples...". This is such a gorgeous picture. Listen to Chris Tomlin's "White Flag" from Passion 2012 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk8ue3qN0hg. To declare means to say something in an empathetic manner. We are to not trample over "all the peoples" - we are to remember what God has done for us, share it, and then declare it with passion and empathy; with a deep understanding resonating within us of where these people are, and where they could be with a personal realtionship with Jesus Christ. We are to be his ambassadors. Remember, 2 Corinthians 5:20, "So we are Christ's ambassadors, God is making his appeal through us."
Do you know what the best part about this is? When you begin your own mission work, wherever you are in whatever country throughout the world, your words will flow easily. Why? Because Psalm 40:3 tells us how:
"He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."
It won't be difficult to talk about the Lord. He will put a new song in your mouth to sing (share and declare). And when you are sharing, teaching, introducing new or developing deeper relationships, God will be working through you. It will be natural to lift each other up. As Paul reminds us to address "one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart..." (Ephesians 5:19).
Have you ever been in the company of a truly devoted Christian sister or brother? Have you noticed the fire that ignites within them when a topic comes up that glorifies the Lord? It is as if the spark in the conversation becomes vibrant, the room fills with a soft peace, and both of you are covered for love and encouragement for the other. That is what it's like to be in community with each other. And what better way to lift each other up than by encouraging each other with our own personal songs? Perhaps your music is for justice. Trust me, God will place you among people who need your thirst for this topic. And you will sing your heart out when you learn of the oppressed. My music is for children and I sing my heart out for orphaned or oppressed children. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in life in this area. I am also excited to see what other music has been building within me that I do not even know about yet! You should be too.
We may not all have been the ones happily banging on pots and pans, and we may not all have literal musical talent. But we all do have a place for the Lord in our hearts. Discover your song with Jesus, and allow him to help you test out those vocal chords and actions by taking a small step of faith of to wherever or to whatever he calls you. Discover, Share, Declare, Sing!
"Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord."
Psalm 33:1-22
Inspirational!
ReplyDelete