Making Melody

Psalms 135:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Psalms 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

One of the most memorable trips our family took was several years ago when Mark and I drove the children to Chicago and showed them the Jewish neighborhoods during the time of Sukkot, the celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles.  Families still build the “booths” outside and eat their meals there during that holiday. (As illustrated in the title picture above)  In Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 you will find God’s instruction about this feast of 7 days where He wanted His people to rejoice in His care and providence for them during the 40 years He took care of them in the wilderness.  When our family drove through the streets we saw the booths that the Jewish families had built outside their homes.  Some were plain, others were elaborate.  But it was the fact we were seeing something that God had told His people to do thousands of years before that was so thrilling. 

God has always had an order to things.  He has always had a reason He desires His people to do something.  In Psalm 81 we are encouraged by one of David’s chief musicians to “Sing aloud unto God our strength:”  In Ephesians 5, we are shown that a product of being filled with the Spirit is “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”  God gave us these passages for a reason.  He wants us to be consumed with Him, be joyful in Him and open our mouths and let others know of His goodness.

Sometimes when we are down because of circumstances, we may not feel like opening our hearts and letting God fill it with praise.  There may be moments when our head hangs low and our shoulders droop because of the load we carry, but we cannot forget that God tells us to cast it ALL on Him because He cares for us! (IPeter 5:7)  The thought of that verse alone will cause your lips to part and your heart to thump as you desire to praise His name for just caring!

I have encouraged us before in a post to look in the rearview mirror and see all God has already done in our lives, but today I encourage you to be filled with the Spirit and see what He is doing in your life RIGHT NOW.  He is doing it with a purpose, a goal and a reason.  You can thank Him for Romans 8:28 and the working together for good!

Rise up where you are right now and sing aloud to God OUR STRENGTH!  (We wouldn’t need strength if we were strong, now would we?)  He knows our weakness and He provides every ounce of strength we need.  The key is being filled with His Spirit and empty of ourselves.

Join me today as we look at a whole week stretched out in front of us.  Decide to live it in the Spirit and not in yourself.  Your life could make melody unto the Lord and the tune could draw another in with you!

“Giving thanks always for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” Ephesians 5:20

Until next time, Lord willing,
Sheri