O sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
Psalm 98:1 NASB
I say this often, because it’s true: We can either live as victims of our circumstances or we can live as victors over them. We all have our battles in this life. We all are faced with daily temptations to sin. We all go through periods of sorrow and suffering. Sometimes one gets so overwhelmed with the cares of the world…you know what I’m talking about…the little day to day things that nag us for attention but really may not be all that important.
When a lot of little things pile up, they form a dam in the river of our heart which keeps us from receiving the flow of God’s grace. When faced with yet another realization that I have allowed that very thing to happen, I go back and do what I know to do. I began to worship and sing and rejoice in my God in spite of the ‘little things’!
Bottom line: because of sin I deserve death and hell…but because of who and Whose I am, I receive grace and mercy…and this makes me want to sing! When I sing in worship and praise to my God, the light of truth overcomes the darkness of the enemy’s lies and the dammed up places in my mind begin to break away releasing a torrent of healing and rest for my soul.
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.
Psalm 59:16-17 NASB
Truth sets us free. Honest confession is the first step truth requires on our part. Honestly confessing our failures and wounds to the Lord opens the floodgates of pain and stagnation in our soul and we find cleansing and refreshment we may not have even known we needed!
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB
Don’t allow the small annoyances of life to get you down today. Sing to the Lord. Don’t allow the enemy to trick you into thinking from a victim’s point of view. Sing a song of victory to the Lord today. Open up the floodgates of your soul and find joy…and walk in that joy.
Dennis Jernigan
To hear The Dennis Jernigan podcast version of this teaching and to hear a song inspired for such a moment as this, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/i-will-sing/
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/09/15/17/32/dam-3679900_1280.jpg