My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. [Psalm 57:7-11 (NLT)]
Do you sing in the shower? My father did and when we heard him joyfully singing at the top of his lungs, we knew it would be a good day for us all. I don’t sing in the shower (or elsewhere) since my singing would be a perfect way to turn a good day into a bad one for anyone within earshot. I do, however, have days, those bright sunshiny days, when I wake up with a song in my heart and I sing His praises in full voice with symphonic accompaniment. Fortunately, no one can hear me because I’m singing only with my heart. The words of Psalm 57 sound like they were written on one of those absolutely perfect mornings, when all seems right with the world and one wants to sing God’s praises from the depth of one’s soul.
When David penned Psalm 57, did he wake up feeling joyful? Was everything right in his world? Actually no; this psalm is about a time when David was fleeing for his life. He wasn’t looking out at a bright sunshiny day; he and his soldiers were hiding from King Saul in a dark dingy cave! Yet, David’s psalm is one of joyful thanks and praise. It’s not that David didn’t know how dire his situation was. Earlier in the psalm, he likens it to being surrounded by fierce hungry lions with tongues as sharp as swords and teeth like spears and arrows. In spite of his circumstances, David speaks of his confidence; confidence not in himself, in his troops or cause, or even the safety of the cave. He joyfully speaks of his confidence in God’s unfailing love.
If we have faith in God, regardless of how dark our circumstances, every day can be a bright sunshiny one. Sing to Him with joy, confident in His love. Even if no one else can hear your song, God will hear the song in your prayers. Even if we’re tone deaf and way off key, our heartfelt songs of thanks and praise will be music to God’s ears.
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” sang the Rolling Stones in 1965. Back in 520 BC, the Jews of Jerusalem were probably singing their own version of that song. Sixteen years earlier, upon their return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, they had started to rebuild the temple just as God had instructed them to do. Within two years, however, construction had stopped. Granted, they had hostile neighbors who, fearing a prosperous Jewish state, harassed them. In actuality, though, they were more to blame for their delay than were their political opponents. Questioning God’s timing, they’d grown discouraged, lost focus and become more concerned about building their own homes than finishing God’s house. God sent a message to the people through the prophet Haggai pointing out that the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had to show for it. By ignoring God and fulfilling their needs first, the Jews were destined to remain unsatisfied. Moreover, God was angry that He had been ignored. So angry, in fact, that He sent a drought to destroy their crops and livestock.
“Be mindful to be a blessing…” After reading Paul’s words as translated in the Classic Amplified Bible, I thought of a comic I recently saw in the newspaper. (Oddly, I get lots of inspiration from the comics and I’m not sure what that says about my intellect.) Nevertheless, in “Nancy,” written by Guy Gilchrist, it’s Nancy who is reading the comics page. The speech balloon says, “Today’s Motivation: Let your presence be a gift to all you meet!” The next panel shows her walking down the street. Instead of her typical hair ribbon, she is wearing an enormous bow and a gift tag that says, “To you!”
What makes us happy? Could it be a phone call from a good friend? Is it when we’ve made a profit in the stock market or received a large commission check? Are we pleased when our checkbook balances on the first attempt or when the accountant informs us that a large tax refund will be in the mail? Are we happy when someone sends us flowers or our child brings home a good report card? Does finding the ideal gift for our spouse’s birthday or receiving the perfect gift for ours give us happiness? Would we be happier if we could enjoy two weeks at a luxury resort or had a state-of-the-art home theatre or gourmet kitchen?
Upon receiving an invitation from a business acquaintance to a “Celebrate Life” picnic, my first response was “Who died?” The words “It is just for fun!” along with the promise of pony rides, moonwalk, magician and games seemed rather odd for a Celebration of Life. That this was the 19th such picnic further confused me. Fortunately, accompanying the invitation was a brief note explaining that nineteen years ago his son had overcome serious health issues and every year since his family has gathered with friends and family to celebrate. Rather than celebrating the life of someone who died, they were celebrating that he lived!
