Christianity Oasis Forum

[kimberly]

Have you ever thought much about the word-- "sing"? I have been reading scriptures with some form of the word 'sing' in them......sing, singers, singing. It's amazing how many there are.

After reading them, I firmly believe....we were all meant to sing. We may not all have the gift of a beautiful voice, but we have all ben given the gift of being able to sing. Even if we no more than hum, or sing in our hearts, we are all able.

How God must enjoy hearing His children express themselves in this way! It's His gift to us, this ability. It's an expression of emotion, one used in many ways. Many emotions are expressed through singing also. Which ones come to mind for you?

One scripture found it's way into my brain and wouldn't leave. It was this one:

Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

OK, I thought, I can do that. I DO do that, don't I Lord? Immediately I saw it this way in my head....

And do not be drunk with WHINE......

O boy. I thought, I HAVE been on the whine lately. Whine a little here and there about how I feel, or whine a bunch about things I can't change, or even people....God forgive me.

I have been drunk with chronic whine. It grew from one little complaint into this big sniveling ball of whine twine. What do I do now, Lord? Help me! I don't want to be a whino! ....I saw this next.....

"In which is dissipation; " HOORAY! Whine can evaporate and leave me! It doesn't have to be my undoing. How can I dissipate it, Lord?

"Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,"

God longs to hear us sing to Him. Sing how we feel, sing Him praise, sing for sheer joy of living with Christ indwelling, sing the victory, the list goes on! But obviously, the whine I was using instead of my singing was not glorifying God in anyway.

It was ungrateful and unfitting for a child of the Most High God. It was cruel and unloving towards my Father. I had put Him away from my heart and embraced dischord.

How do I get back to harmony Lord? I hate this cranky, irritable, twitchy, WHINEY state I have moved into! Help me move back!

Isaiah 51:11 So the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Ah, the emotions that can be soothed by singing to God. Singing honestly, singing that is in the heart. God has redeemed me, 'ransomed' me from sin, and I can return to Him at any time!

In this way, singing to Him, I can obtain joy and gladness....sorrow and sighing shall flee away! This joy and gladness focuses on Jesus, who He is to me, and what He has given me.....not on circumstances.

"The joy of the Lord' is what I should be considering in my heart, not everything that might be wrong with me or others. Just the fact that I am redeemed from sin and will live eternally in Him, is cause enough to sing.

But our Mighty, loving God goes beyond that. Joy and gladness can be obtained! It's gotten when we change our attitudes and our mindsets from complaining and being dissatisfied with God..... to being thankful.

That's not to say we can't express our sorrow, grief, or hurt to God.....we certainly can, and should when we have the need. Letting it go from expression to dissatisfaction with God becomes a problem. One that keeps ourselves from obtaining joy and gladness.

When God has taught me something, I always ask Him for a "knockout" scripture....one that will "knockout" the chronic whine, when I apply it Lord! This is the one He gave me, to use whenever I am tempted to be "drunk on the whine"---

Psalm 96:1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day 3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.

thank You, Father for giving me a heartsong to sing to You, a new song of joy and gladness! Sorrow and sighing flee from me, for I am the redeemed of the Lord, and I sing it among the nations! In Jesus Name, amen.

If you were to sing a song to God tonight, what emotion would be in it?

[Sassy3]

Kimberly, thank you for this posting. As I sat reading it in the quiet of my computer room, I saw much more than I gleaned last evening.

It is always good to know HE wants us to sing our praises to Him. Joy, excitement, worship, even sorrow are emotions that can be lifted up to Him. He blesses us when we talk to Him in whatever mode that might be.

Remember what joy it brought to us as parents or grandparents when we heard out little ones singing for the first time....then as they continued to lift their little voices. "Jesus loves me, this I know...." took on a new meaning as we listened to the sincerity in their voices. How much more does our Father delight in hearing our singing voices being lifted up in praise to Him.

May we continue to sing as children of the Lord. "Jesus loves me, this I know."

sassy3

[kimberly]

Amen Sassy, may we be as little children in song!

[Tracy L]

That was a wonderful revelation Kimberly. Thank you for sharing it with us. I never really realized how much there was in the Bible about singing butttt I think some of the greatest in the Bible sang soooo God must really enjoy us singing to Him.
My only concern is I cannot carry a decent tune with my voice. ( my ancestors don't carry that musical talent gene I guess)
I love to sing though. I just hope the Lord can tolerate my tone deafness and screaching voice. Sighhhhhhh.
Oh well, my kids like to sing too and they are so-so but you know what? It's like you said, the first time anyone of them sang a song my heart melted.

Tracy

P.S. And it's almost a natural thing to do. When my kids were born I sang lullabys to them. Sometimes I even hummed to them to help them calm down and go to sleep.

[lizzie]

Tracy sis, if ur singing with Him in your heart, then I know that He will find it the most beautiful voice ever He is ur Father after all

Luv ya tracy and thank you kimmers for this wonderful post, I luv ya sis!

[Sassy3]

Tracy, When you mentioned singing to babies....brought this to mind.

I am tone deaf, but I "make a joyful noise unto the Lord". When our children were small and I would rock them, singing as best I could, my husband would joke that the children went to sleep quickly so as not to listen to my "singing" any longer than possible.

Sweet revenge is mine. I stand at his gravesite and SING. Sometimes it is a sad song ....for I miss him....other times it is joyful....for I am thankful for the years the Lord gave us together.

sassy3

[lizzie]

Aww sass

This thread brought to mind this one, an oldie but goodie

Sing a Song
The Carpenters


Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out Strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough
For everyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me

[Tracy L]

Wow, Lizzles,

That brings back so many good memories! The old days, ya know.
I actually liked THe Carpenters (even though "they" weren't cool with the cool group at school). They were ok with my mom too compared to the Otherrrr stuff I had...oh myyyyy...I was a "rock n roller" back thennnn. Poor mom.

Loves ya,
TRacy