WATCHWORD:
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. Sing to the Lord…” Psalm 98:1
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Meditation:
Sing a New Song
Ever have your heart so full of joy that it seems you can’t stop singing, or humming or even dancing? You want to shout, “I feel goooood!” You can say that you were happy, but it’s more than happy, far more, it is heart-song joy, and you find yourself singing, maybe a familiar hymn you’ve known all your life, but now it is born of joy and it is a ‘new song’ in praise of God.
The Psalmist tells us to sing to the Lord a new song. That doesn’t mean you need to compose a song, new music, new lyrics, etc. just let it flow out from the Joy of the Lord. The early Christians in their zeal for worship composed psalms, many of which were indeed new songs. Our hymns accomplish the same purpose, and our heart-song joy is unique to each of us. I think this is why I prefer old familiar hymns that I can get my spiritual ‘teeth’ into and sing praise, rather than mumble through an unfamiliar hymn.
I think at the very heart of our joy is the knowledge we have been invited to come to Him and he gives us rest. How do we do that? How do we lay down our worries, our fears, the sense of uncertainty about the future, and replace it with the light burden, the easy weight, that brings gladness to each moment of our lives, which is what our Lord has promised? Our role in this is surrender, we lay everything at the foot of The Cross of Christ.
We have to make a choice. A choice, a simple thing like saying, “I believe”. We can say it but we have to act on it for it to have blessed value. Joy is part of that choice. It is not something magical that flows into our being, it is the product of our choosing and it is a gift from God.
Oh, I can hear some of the answers coming from solid Christians: “You just have to believe”. Well, yes, but… As a Christian, I still worry, I fear certain threats, and, at times, my mind is uncertain. My belief is my source of peace and comfort, and the center of my stability, but that alone does not cause my heart to be full of joy, nor does it cause me to sing. I find myself singing in the midst of my time with the Lord, or when I have followed his admonition to ‘Go and do Likewise”, or perhaps when His inspiration causes me to write devotionals. In other words, when we sing a ‘new song’, even if it’s an old song, it is sung as worship with gratitude for the gifts from the Spirit.
Charles Swindoll tells us: I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I choose to react to it. Choice. Make a choice that causes you joy and you will will sing a new song. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my rock and my fortress. You are my shield and my strong tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today and to rejoice. I know Lord you have gifted me with choice, help me to choose Joy, Joy in You, for I know that my Joy is contagious. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as opportunity to point others to You. Amen.
