To my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Good morning, and what a beautiful morning it is! The sun is rising a bit later each day, which brings a tinge of sadness to my heart. These beautiful summer mornings will coming to an end, as our northern hemisphere drifts towards the coming winter season. That thought should motivate us to make the most of these gloriously beautiful summer days while we have them, for they will soon be ending. With that thought in mind, here’s a verse I read today…
“The Lord is my strength and my song” Ex 15:2
One of my favorite times during these graveside devotions is when I sing. Singing is a form of prayer. One of the advantages of the cemetery being so far out in the country, with no houses or people around, is that no one can hear me sing. I don’t have to be self-conscious like when people turn around in church, and politely look to see who is singing so off key. When I lost my hearing over a year ago I also lost my ability to hear music, which is heart breaking. That means that I don’t know if I am singing in key or not. Bethany would always nudge me when I wasn’t. Now that she’s not here, I’ve discovered the hard way that I’m usually not. So in the cemetery, I get to sing my favorite hymns at the top of my lungs! The birds seem to like it for they chime in with me! (or maybe they’re squawking at me to shut up, I don’t know) But most often, I just make up songs. I just pour my heart out. He knows what I am singing even if I don’t sometimes.
I read today Exodus 15:2, the song that Moses and the children of Israel sang after they crossed the Red Sea and were delivered from Egypt’s bondage. There are different Hebrew words used for the different types of songs. In this verse the word for “song” is “zamar” and it means “a pruning hook or the pruning of a tree”. This is a song of victory where God has “pruned” the Egyptian enemies from the children of Israel. It is a song of deliverance.
We used to sing a song that used this verse as its refrain. When I sung it I understood that God was my strength and my deliverer, but I wondered, how can God be my song? What’s that supposed to mean?
Chaim Bentorah explains that in ancient times people throughout the world sang songs that told stories of the accomplishments of their gods. Our old hymns and Gospel songs used to tell stories of the wonderous works of God. Today modern Christian worship music tends to shorten lyrics and do not tell stories any more. Therefore, so many of our younger generation don’t understand how God can be our song.
Maybe someday we will return to telling stories and testimonies about our wonderful God, for He is our song and His song is our song. His song; the song of our deliverance is our story. Let’s sing our song daily.
How has God delivered you, protected you, provided for you? What battles has He won for you? Don’t be drawn into the fears of Covid-19 and the concerns of the day with all the misinformation we are being constantly deluged with. Look to the Lord for your salvation from your daily troubles and write the lyrics to your song daily, like David did in the Psalms.
Do you see the song of the Lord running through your life? Look back and rehearse those times where God has intervened in your life and given you unexpected blessings, provision or deliverance. Ponder them, for this is the Lord’s song. Write them down in your journal. It will be precious to your children when you’re gone.
This reminds me of an interview I saw of my favorite comedian when I was a child; Red Skelton. Red was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever seen, and he was genuine, wholesome and so funny. After I watched the only interview he ever did, and heard how he redeemed his time, I appreciated him even more. I won’t go into all the things he did during the day, for it would take too long but this is what stood out to me. He had a regiment in his life where every day he would write down 5 of the most humorous things that happened to him that day and 5 new things that he learned which he didn’t know before. This was his song and became material for his routines. But he had to discipline himself to look for those things throughout the day. If you have the time and want to watch this sweet interview, it will bless your heart, I guarantee it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z2ojfveL-I
I see now that the Lord has been my song throughout all of my life. Even when I didn’t know Him, He was singing to me, drawing me to Himself.. He has fought my battles. He has been my friend in my time of need. He has been so faithful and He has become my all in all. He is all I need. He is my song!
“I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea! The Lord, my God, my strength, my song, has now become my victory!”
Let’s gloriously sing His song for the “rest of our lives”. (Heb 4: 3,5,11)
In Christ,
– Bob