Today’s Reading: Psalm 144:9-11
Psalm 144:9 — I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you.
God promises a song of freedom. In the book titled The Insanity of God, the author Nik Ripken reports the true stories of persecuted Christians from many countries. In the midst of terrible suffering, these believers were able to sing “heart songs,” songs of praise to God.
In one of these stories, a young Muslim woman who converted to Christianity who was arrested and imprisoned in the filthy, dark, rat-infested cellar of a police station. For many days she was able to keep herself encouraged, but eventually she began to become angry with God. She opened her mouth to shout out her fury, but what came out of her mouth was a magnificent song of praise.
The Holy Spirit filled this woman’s mouth with a new, spiritual song that she had never sung before! The Muslim police officers working upstairs grew silent as she sang, and then one of the officers opened the trapdoor in the floor, helped the woman out of the cellar, and said she could go free.
The officer walked the woman home and told her that he wanted her to come to his home to speak to his wife and daughters. When she asked him why, the officer told her that the women in his home were filled with fear. Since she had shown no fear while she was imprisoned, the officer wanted the woman to sing the song she had sung in the darkness again to him and his family and tell them about Jesus.
Remember Paul and Silas who sang songs of praise in the Philippian jail? Those men were also set free and were invited to the jailer’s home to share the gospel and bring the household to salvation. You do not have to be a gifted singer to glorify God. Paul was not known for having a lovely voice, but the song he sang set people free. Your “heart song” can too! Let the Lord be your song.
10/26/2024 Devotional
"Your “heart song” can, too! Let the Lord be your song."
We had a profound experience of the power of music at SEACON in the Philippines in October. “I am Amazed.”
Wherever people gather, you can hear voices, laughter, and music, anywhere in the world.
Music connects people. You can see this just by watching musicians perform together. When musicians play together, they have to cooperate, listen to each other, and work to make their music blend together. That’s why you sometimes see musicians looking at each other and smiling during a performance. It’s not just a part of the performance. When you sing with people, your brain releases certain chemicals that make you feel happy, closer to…