When Life Gives You Lemons . . . Sing

"We must never rest until everything inside us worships God." 
- A. W. Tozer

Worship has several aspects, prayer for example, which we looked at previously.  But, my favorite part has always been singing.  It comes naturally to me.  I grew up singing - in worship, in the car with my dad, in the shower, while I played.  I sang to my children when they were babies.  Singing, like prayer, is like breathing out.  It has always and will always be an important and necessary part of our relationship with God.

Among the many examples of singing in the Old Testament we find that "Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: 'I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously'. . ." (Exodus 15:1-18).  The Psalms, which number 150, were written to be sung.  Psalms 146:1-2 reads: 

"Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

While I live I will praise the Lord;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

In the New Testament, we see our Savior engaging in the act of singing.  After instituting the Lord's Supper, Mark tells us, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" (14:26).  Paul tells the Christians in Colosse and Ephesus to speak to each other in "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19).

And, singing won't cease once we leave this earth.  All Christians await the day in Heaven where we will "[sing] a new song, saying:

You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,"

(Revelation 5:9)

Worship - in this case singing - "will get you through the [lemons] in your life because it shifts your focus from the problem to the problem solver.”  Even deep in a Philippian jail, Paul and Silas found a reason to sing (Acts 16).  "In dire circumstances we might think it was unnatural for Paul and Silas to be singing, but it was actually the most natural thing for them to do, just as natural as praying." (Why Do We Sing? - sermon by Ray White).  It’s difficult to be overwhelmed with our trials when we’re focusing on the author of all goodness.  

In light of all that God has blessed us with and His promise of an eternal home in Heaven with Him, let us consider the hymn written by American Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry and ask ourselves "How Can I Keep From Singing?":

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul--

How can I keep from singing?

While tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

While tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it;

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his--

How can I keep from singing?