A reason to sing
GOD IS worthy and worthy of our praise.
He is God and we are not! Do you ever just stop to praise Him?
He is in heaven, and we are on earth. The earth is His footstool and heaven His throne. He sits enthroned above us, yet He is among us and His Spirit in us. He is with us and that’s a reason to sing. Too often we let the cares and the worries of this world weigh us down and forget that we have the very power and God of the universe living within. I’ve got a reason to sing!
Yes, in this life we will have trials and tribulations but we can be of good cheer and are told to be, simply because He has overcome the world. Again, we have reason to sing and rejoice but it’s a choice. He doesn’t force us to worship or to follow Him, but He commands those who have decided to follow Him. The Word says to fear God and to keep His commands, and part of fearing God is reverence and worship. We serve Him. Go to Psalm 99 and it sets the stage for Who God is and why we must worship Him - because He is Holy! Which leads me to Psalm 100 - to exercise praise. The Word tells us for the spirit of heaviness, WE must “put on” the garment of praise. It’s an exchange that we must do. It’s a trade and it don’t just happen- we choose. We activate the power with our praise.
Psalm 100
1: MAKE a joyful (noise) shout to the Lord, all you lands!
God doesn’t care what it sounds like. As long as it is pure, it is a sweet smelling fragrance to Him. He is worthy of all honor and praise. One way we honor God is in and through our praise. We often take time to complain,sulk and gossip, but do we take as much time to praise? Which one tips the scales!?
It doesn’t always come natural so we gotta be intentional. We must make a joyful noise. We must open our mouths. We must lift up our hands and our hearts. If nothing comes out then nothing comes in. As the praises go up, the power comes down!
Sing! Rejoice! Even when circumstance aren’t always ideal and things just don’t seem worth singing about, we still got a reason to sing. It’s because we know Who and Where the power comes from. And guess what, the enemy don’t want to hear our song because he wants to leave us weak. An even better reason to sing! Our weapon is our melody. The Lord doesn’t leave us weaponless, without resource or defense. His joy is our strength so sing and be infused, or don’t and be left empty and weak.
2: Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Part of “serving” God is praising God and doing what we do with gladness. It matters how we come. It matters more how we leave! I am guilty of negativity. It sometimes just comes up in me and I forget to fight it in order to silence it. It isn’t always easy but we can wake up and come into each day with gladness knowing that He is God and that He can do anything! That’s part of our service and dedication to Him; gladness. Our posture matters.
We will want to rejoice when He has made us glad. It’s an attitude of gratitude that chooses to see what God has done. Its hard to be victorious with a face of gloom and a heart of defeat! Who would you rather work for you? One with a chip on his shoulder or one who shows up willing to do what needs to be done and with a good attitude? Who are you more likely to call upon, bless and promote?
We can’t overcome with an attitude of defeat and complaint! It’s why the Israelites never “made it in.” We must bring the sacrifice of praise. He’s not asking for animal sacrifices or for you to sell your first born. He’s asking for our heart and willingness. Jesus gave all, and He did it gladly and willingly. Not only did He do it because He loved you but because He truly wanted to please the Father. So now we we have reason to come and to come gladly. Jesus gave all for us. Now we should want to give back and to serve Him with all our hearts and gladness. No matter in whatever area of service we come: whether it be in giving our time, our talents or our tithe. He wants the best of us, our whole hearts and our first fruit. We aren’t doing it to be teachers pet but because we love and honor Him. We must serve Him and do it with gladness or it makes no effect.
The Lord loves a cheerful giver. We got so much more to be thankful for than we know. If you don’t believe me just go to the ghetto, you don’t have to go far to a third world country to see. It’s right in our backyard. The places we ignore, avoid, bypass and try not to go. Truth is, the people that need Him possibly the most, we most often avoid. We got a reason to sing. So in whatever you do, do it with gladness!
He is the giver - the giver of life and all things. We just give back what He first gave because we know that it all belongs to Him. We don’t get to keep any of it and must one day not only give it back but give an account for it and how we used all of it. We must use and give wisely and accordingly. If we don’t recognize and remember where it came from then we can easily get greedy, ugly and haughty.
We aren’t hoarders but rather investors. We must invest wisely into ourselves and into others as He’d see fit. It’s hard to do that without a thankful and grateful heart. We’re entrusted with this life and gifts. We are His hands and feet and it is to benefit His creation. We are only here for a little while and born/created to make a difference. But, how can we if we don’t do it gladly? We’re difference makers and it begins with the recognition of Who God is and that we want to serve Him, and gladly. There’s no other way.
We aren’t to lay up and to store up riches and treasures for earthly use alone, but for eternal gain. Not just for ourselves, for that’s not service to Him. For these things are just gonna pass away sooner or later, go out of style, rust away and they can be stolen or broken. Not permanent fixtures but tools. It’s the soul that never dies but yet there’s bodies dying daily and souls that are hanging in the balance and found wanting? We can clearly see where our heart is according to what we truly treasure. For where our treasure is, there we will find our hearts too. We got service to do and we must do it gladly! We have breath to praise our Creator and we got a chance to lead a life that pleases Him and leads others to Him.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 2 Corinthians 9:7-8
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:10
We’re only here for a little while.
So again, serve Him with gladness! And come before His presence with singing. We ought to be more wise, thoughtful and aware of how we come! God loves an attitude of gratitude. It’s hard to bless a person with a stinky attitude for the gift that we want to extend, but they refuse to receive. God loves to bless those in need but I believe even more to those who acknowledge the gift with pure motive, a heart of love and gratitude. It’s hard not to be glad when we see things from His POV. Look up. Look in. Look around.
3: Know (ye) that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Simply He is God. He is Maker and Creator and we are His creation. We didn’t make ourselves. He made it all. We are not our own, we are His. He is Father and He calls us children. Everything else is just borrowed, He is Who we belong to. We are entrusted and He is Who we trust in. He is Shepherd, we are sheep. He has given us our children and our bread. But He is Who it all comes from and through. We must recognize that in order to truly appreciate. It’s easy to get prideful if we don’t know or forget.
He gives us the hands that we must work with. He gives seed to the sower but ultimately the harvest comes from Him. He owns the storehouse. He made the heavens and earth. We are workers to be on the receiving end but to also know that every good and perfect gift comes from above. Again, know Who it comes from so you will know Who to give the praise due and work for and to. It’s not of yourself. No man’s self or man made. We’re not our own nor did we create ourselves, we are HIS; divine! Tools in His hand and for His use. He alone gives and takes away. Our talents come from Him and we’re made by His design.
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Acts 17:26-28
Until we realize that He is divine and we are part of His divine plan, nothing else makes sense.
4: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Where does the thanks and thanksgiving come from? Our hearts. We must set our hearts and minds on God in order to worship Him. If we’re thankful we must turn it into thanksgiving. We must lift up our voice to make a joyful noise so He can hear it. He wants it out, not held in. It’s fragrance to Him and and a joyful noise it is. He hears and He reacts. When we come into His presence and into His gates, it’s because we choose to come with a stance of praise. That time and space and place can be anywhere. We don’t have to and shouldn’t wait till Sundays. The gate is open when we decide to come in, with praise. With song. With an attitude of gratitude. With our hands and heart lifted high no matter what that looks like or what we have to offer. To each it may look different but to God the praise. You never get into the place of awe and reverence if you never recognize and come in. He invites all to come. To enter His gates.
There’s an old song we use to sing. You see, we must decide we’re coming and how we’re coming in: glad! Even if we’re feeling discouraged, determined that we’re coming in, coming into His presence with praise. That’s one way we enter in. We’re coming and have faith to believe. Not just for what He can do but for Who He is and because He is worthy.
🎶 “I will enter His gates
With thanksgiving in my heart;
I will enter His courts with praise.
I will say this is the day
That the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
He has made me glad,
He has made me glad,
I will rejoice
For He has made me glad.
He has made me glad,
He has made me glad,
I will rejoice
For He has made me glad.”
We have reason to rejoice and sing. We have life and we have breath and as long as we do, He deserves our praise and longing to. We must get it out and in the air to fill the presence with Jehovah! To overtake the pollution that we live in day and day out, all the noise. We must Sing! Shout! Lift up your hands and sing! Break traditional and religious walls down. Who cares what anyone thinks. That not only stifles and holds us back but we don’t want to quench the Spirit that wants to move in us and on our behalf ! It’s how the battles won! We gotta reason to sing. Be thankful to Him. Bless HIS Name. He is holy and His Name is too. Just speaking His Name is powerful and we must speak it in no other way but than honorably.
Each day His mercies are new. Each day is a brand new gift to you. Unwrap it gratefully and see how it unfolds. Too often we miss the gift and refuse to see it. A heart of gratitude looks for and sees the good in everything and all around, recognizing the Maker of it all. It looks for! It’s an intentional move. It’s a good habit that we must first put into practice. First thing when our eyes open and feet hits the floor, if He so graces us, we have an opportunity to acknowledge Him first.
We are simply told and given the steps on what to do.
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Not for everything but in everything, knowing He is God and that He is good. He has and promised good plans for us and He works all things and everything out or our good. That is IF we love Him and are called and walking accordingly to His purpose and will. We pray because He is maker and we rejoice because He is good, even when circumstances is not. We realize prayer and praise is a weapon that we can lift up at any given time we want to. It’s an antidote to the enemies tactics and schemes. Outlast him. For this is God’s will for you. I gotta reason to sing! I want the powers so I lift up my praise.
5: For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
And finally for the Lord is good! His mercy truly does last forever. No matter what we have done. He is still worthy of praise . That’s one way the enemy tries to shame and make you less powerful. To keep you in shame and guilt. To make you think God is mad at you and so you’ll in turn forget why He sent His only begotten son (for you!) and why Jesus died for you. He died for you, for your very sin that binds you. For even while you were still yet in your sin, He died for you and for that sin; to cover it by His love, mercy and grace. He loves you too much to let you stay that way! There’a NO sin too big or bad, no distance too far.
The prodigals father was just waiting for him to come home and the Father is patiently waiting and longing for you. Yes, sin separates but repentance confesses, recognizes and reconciles. There’s no place too far. We don’t come to worship Him because we are worthy. It’s not about you or me. We come to worship Him because He is worthy and we lift up His Name because He/it is Holy. The only way to turn it around is to lift it up to Him and lift your prayers and song to Him. Not me. Christ in me.
His truth endures to all generations, so let’s pass it on with a song and let them see that we got a Big God and we got a reason to sing.
Song of the day: “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman
