Weekly Devotion

May 11 2020

One of the things I love about this time of the year is being able to raise the windows and
enjoy the sounds of nature in the quiet of the morning. It is a morning after a night of
storms and rain. As the day begins, the sun is out and the birds are singing their songs as
Creation declares the beauty and majesty of our God and Creator. As I turned to the
Psalms, nature is at peace and the birds’ melodies ring in my ears.

As I was reading Psalm 33, verse 3 captured my heart: “Sing to him a new song.” As I sat
with those words, I reflected that over the last few weeks in the midst of this social
distancing and online services, the attitude of my heart was more like the attitude of the
psalmist in Psalm 137. The theme of this Psalm is from one in Exile weeping over the
bitterness of loss- loss of freedom, loss of home, loss of being able to worship Yahweh in
the Temple that was now destroyed. Out of the captive’s sorrow, he asks, “How can we
sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (Ps. 137:4). I had been asking, “How
can we celebrate Holy Week and Easter if we cannot gather as the Body of Christ? How
can we continue to be apart? How long can we do this distancing from our friends in our
Sunday school and small groups? What about Mother’s Day? Senior Sunday? How do I
“sing to Him a new song” in the midst of the uncertainty of the days we find ourselves?
When as the church can we gather again to sing songs of worship together?

As I continued in my time with God that morning, I continued on to the end of the Psalm
33:“We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we
put our hope in you.” (Ps. 33: 20-22, emphasis mine)

As my eyes rested on verse 21, it was God’s gentle reminder that the song my heart sings
is based on the source of my hope that leads to the rejoicing and singing; not on the
circumstances, situations, or uncertainties.

We are Easter people and the songs we sing come from the hope that is ours in Christ and
there is nothing that can take that from us. Yes, our current circumstances may not make
us happy, but the joy of the Lord that is ours cannot be taken from us. And for that, may
our hearts sing His praises loud and clear.

Questions for reflection:
       In this season of uncertainties as we social distance, where is God speaking to your
heart? As we move forward and the pandemic subsides, what new song and lessons of
faith will we have to sing and share?

Prayer: Gracious God, we come with songs of praise in our hearts to sing of your
goodness, mercy, and faithfulness. Your promises to us hold true as we look to you in this
time. You never leave or forsake us. In today’s situation in terms we currently understand,
you promise that you do not “social distance” from us. Give us a fresh awareness of your
Spirit at work in us and through us and may our hearts response be to always sing songs of
praise to You. Amen