May 5th
"As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men...who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." 2 Chronicles 20:22
Oh, if only we would worry less about our problems and sing and praise more! There are thousands of things that shackle us that could be turned into instruments of music, if we just knew how to do it. Think of those people who ponder, meditate, and weigh the affairs of life, and who continually study the mysterious inner workings of God's providence, wondering why they suffer burdens and are opposed and battled on every front. How different their lives would be, and how much more joyful, if they would stop indulging in self-centered and inward thinking and instead would daily lift their experiences to God, praising Him for them.
It is easier to sing your worries away then to reason them away. Why not sing in the morning? Think of the birds-they are the first to sing each day, and they have fewer worries than anything else in creation. And don't forget to sing in the evening, which is what the robins do when they have finished their daily work. Once they have flown their last flight of the day and gathered the last bit of food, they find a treetop from which to sing a song of praise.
Oh, that we might learn to sing morning and evening, offering up song after song of continual praise throughout our day! selected
Don't let the song go out of your life
Although it sometimes will flow
In a minor strain; it will blend again
With the major tone you know.
Although shadows rise to obscure life's skies.
And hide for a time the sun,
The sooner they'll lift and reveal the rift,
If you let the melody run.
Don't let the song go out of your life;
Though the voice may have lost its trill,
Though the quivering note may die in your throat,
Let it sing in your spirit still.
Don't let the song go our of your life;
Let it wring in your soul while here;
And when you go hence, it will follow you thence,
and live on in another sphere.
