In the day of difficulty, you will only lean on what you have...
I love the New Testament command to make God-music the constant melody of our hearts: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father..." (Ephesians 5:18-20, ESV).
In our hearts...Speaking to one another...
Always giving thanks...
Listen to this Old Testament counsel: "Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts." (Psalm 119:49-50, 52, 54-56, ESV)
Maybe Paul and Silas knew this stuff in their spirits and minds and hearts when they faced difficulty. Consider: "The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them..." (Acts 16:22-25, ESV)
See that? People were listening! That's what happens when we delight in God in the face of our circumstances.
Pardon me, I've got some tunes to sing, both in my heart and from my tongue.
No comments:
Post a Comment