YOUR SEASON OF SINGING IS ALWAYS NOW!

FRIDAY 10 JUNE 2022

God's faithfulness and unfailing love cause us to be grateful and abound with singing. The greatness of His goodness and mercy is an unalterable reality and His faithfulness to His Word is beyond question. A Scripture says, 'Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting' (Psalm 147:1). So it is a right practice for God's own people.

Reference: Psalm 89:1 New Living Translation (NLT) 'I will sing of the LORD’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.'

Singing as a worship to God was part of rich history of God's people in the Old and New testament Biblical records, and today, it is a top trending ministry in Christendom. Though Ethan, one of the appointed singers from the family of the Levites wrote the above verse, king David is our main focus because he loved to sing. Music and melodious chants moved King David in every direction of his divine purpose, which in turn, pleased God. Why did the king sing a lot? He loved to worship because He always had reasons to praise God. He experienced so much of God's love in his life that moved him to write many songs of praise and thanksgiving about God.

David held a peculiar and exalted position in God's plan under the Old Testament. Having been anointed to occupy the office of theocratic king in order to fulfil God's purposes concerning Israel, he experienced the manifold move of God because of it and so He was greatly blessed. Having developed the consciousness of honouring God, he often sang of His unfailing love and faithfulness.

To praise God means more than reminding Him of His glorious perfections and majesty and exalting Him for who He is. It also involves expressing trust in His ability and wisdom, thereby acknowledging that His ways are perfect. Did you know that God Himself sings? He takes pleasure in you and me and rejoices over all His children with singing! (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV). This reveals that He is passionate about singing. And God wants us to have such a relationship with Him that we rejoice evermore, singing about Him.

Ephesians 5:18-19 (NKJV) tells of one of the beneficial effects of being "filled with the Spirit" which is 'addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart'. Although we have great songs of Gospel praise and worship available in today's world, its equally important that any time you listen to a song, you should pay attention to the phrasing carefully.

Always ask yourself this question: Is this song just happily motivating me because its pleasing to the ear or is it sweet, cheerfully and musically satisfying because of the melody or am I really inspired by the wordings in a way that touches the heart of God and influences my life in a gracious way? This is because today's world is full of Gospel songs that tend to celebrate God and yet the wordings or lyrics are not entirely edifying. They seem to promote the works of the Gospel but they reveal a limited understanding of our true identity in the Lord. If you fill your mind with such songs, the message communicated through them will definitely affect your spiritual growth, as well as influence your speech and spiritual understanding.

Every true and powerful Christian song is inspired by the Spirit of God and it will always move you to experience God's glory right away because the lyrics are perfectly aligned with the realities of the Kingdom of God. Singing a song that contains the melodic and rhythmic patterns (based on the Word) will impart the wisdom of the Spirit in us and also influence us to experience God's manifest presence as we deeply engage with His truth within the lyrical melody. So the impact of accurate Scriptural truths in a Gospel music should never be undermined. Yes, it doesn't just matter that we sing; it matters the diction of the spiritual communication expressed through the music and the level of spiritual understanding it conveys. Therefore always endeavour to choose and sing songs distinguished by inspiring melodies filled with God's truth and the character of His goodness. Praise God!

Scripture Reading - 1 Chronicles 16:28; Psalm 9:11; Jeremiah 20:13; Ephesians 1:16.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is good and nourishing to my soul any time I sing of your goodness and exalt your Holy Name. I honour and adore you with all in me because you are the same yesterday, today and forever. You are always my solid rock, my shield, my salvation and my strength. Your understanding is unsearchable, your ways are perfect and the whole earth is full of your glory. Therefore, I will continually sing of your praises and celebrate your greatness forever, in Jesus' Name, Amen!