God Wants to Hear You Sing

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you". Matthew 5:11 & 44

While living in Southern California, I would listen to a local news station on the radio every time I was in the car. It was the only way I could stay a half step ahead of the traffic snarls. Since moving to Portland, I have found the traffic reports to be more of a source of amusement than informational. They speak of freeways moving "at a crawl", yet that crawl is still 35 miles an hour. I'll take that any day compared to the parking lot experiences of the California freeways. Because of the lack of need for that information, I have decided to fill my car with the Heavenly sounds of Southern Gospel music.

Personally, I cannot carry a note. Sure, I have a speaking voice that carried me through twenty years of radio broadcasting, but a singing voice was something God chose not to give me. But when I cam in my car, alone, driving the freeway, I sing with the best of them. I love the bass parts, and truly respect the quartets that have great bass singers.

Recently I purchased a new CD. One of the songs on the disc is "God Wants to Hear You Sing". It talks about how it is easy to sing when things are going right. But, when things go wrong, that's the time to sing. The song uses Paul and Silas in the prison as an illustration. Rather than moan and wail over their circumstances, these two men chose to sing hymns of praise and God delivered them from their chains.

Then there is the victorious chorus,

God wants to hear you sing
When the waves are crashing ’round you
When the fiery darts surround you
When despair is all you see
God wants to hear your voice
When the wisest man has spoken
And says, “Your circumstance is as hopeless as can be”
That’s when God wants to hear you sing

The most difficult situation is temporary. In any situation, God wants us to sing praises to Him. Singing praises when the world around us is falling apart seems to lift the heavy spirit of depression. Singing takes the weight off our shoulders and frees us from the miseries of the world. Yet, so many chose to carry their burdens, even after Jesus says for us to give Him our load. in the great old hymn of the church, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", the lyrics state,

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Often, when we are givn a heavy load, we quietly whisper a prayer to God in hopes he might hear us. Next time, try singing a prayer to God. You will be surprised how quickly the burden becomes lighter and how your prayer changes into a song of praise.

Even for a guy like me who cannot carry a note in a bucket, singing is therapy. Best of all, even if you have a singing voice like mine, God wants to hear you sing!

More later.