Daily Encourager – June 19, 2020
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy. – Psalm 92:1-4
I strive to be professional in my work, and in the way that I relate to others. I treat others with respect, and work to be relational in all that I do. It amazes me when new people ask where I’m from, because I wonder if I am able to hide the fact that at heart I’m a country boy.
I was born and raised, here in East Tennessee, and by country boy, what I mean is this. I have grown and picked a garden with family, I’ve broke beans on grandma’s porch, I’ve stacked hay in a barn on a hot summer day, I’ve walked barefoot in the creek, drove a 4x4 off road in the mud, you probably get the picture.
Part of that southern, country heritage is also found in the church, and most of it has to do with singing. I can remember going to church events on summer evenings when all we did was sing. I grew up singing in the church, and to this day, I love to sing in the church. Many of us feel the same way. The music of our faith connects us to God and to that great cloud of witness in which we want to be a part. Some of the songs we have sung our whole lives have great meaning for us, and when we sing them we fell like little children, wrapped up in our heavenly Father’s arms.
Singing is a huge part of our worship. However, as we look to being able to come back to worship in person again, singing is one of the things that we are NOT going to be able to do. It hurts my soul a little to think of not hearing the congregation sing together. However, this country boy has learned a couple things over the years.
There are plenty of people in the church who don’t like to sing, or don’t think they can sing.
There are others ways to engage in worship without singing.
The great part about those two things, is that as we come back together for in-person worship, we can still engage and participate, even though it might be different than we are accustomed. We have a wealth of liturgy, psalms, calls and responses, and even opportunities to learn new ways of responding in worship with our voices. So for those in the first category above, you might feel even more a part of worship than before, and for those like me, who love to sing, we can learn these ancient ways, that may be new to us.
Regardless of how we may feel, the truth is even if we can’t sing out loud, or in the congregation, our hearts will continue to sing because the steadfast love of God meets us day and night, has each day we have been apart, and will continue to do so, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Grace & Peace,
Sam