Lenten Reader | Day 21

March 17th, 2023

Sing For Joy

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:1-5

On Sunday morning, the music transitions us from focusing on ourselves to focusing on praising and thanking God. Coming together and singing songs of praise and thanksgiving allows us to emulate the worship in heaven as glimpsed in Revelation 5. People from every nation and millions of angels surrounding God’s throne singing praises to Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb. Genuine worship transports us from the muck of this world to the throne of Christ!

I have to admit there have been a few times I’ve struggled to shift my focus from the muck to the throne. It’s been in the lyrics of a worship song where God has met me. Last February, we were on month 7 of having sold our house of 18 years and moving into a small apartment in our barn while we had a house built. It’s not always easy raising teenagers, but if you really want to have fun with them, move them out of the only house they’ve ever known and into a concrete floor apartment in the back of a pole barn. By month 7, between trying to continue to convince them it was an adventure, waking up every morning and using a hair dryer to defrost water pipes, and tiptoeing out of bed in the morning praying no critters had made it inside overnight, it was a little discouraging. Then one Sunday we came to church, and I heard the lyrics to “Cherry Blossom” for the first time. A few of the lyrics are, “I’m not going to give in to this mortal frustration. And I’m not gonna give death any standing ovation. I will lift my soul God with no hesitation because between me and you there is no separation. In the winter I believe you, In Springtime I see you.” In His limitless grace, as we offer our thanks and praise, He renews our spirit!

Whether you can sing or not, praise Him. Whether you are happy, sad, discouraged, or frustrated, praise Him. Sing with joy mostly because He is worthy but also because it’s good for the soul!

Shelby Erslan