Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Ps 96:1 ESV

THE SONG IN MY HEART

My hubby and I love to sit outside with our coffee in the mornings and listen to the birds sing their little hearts out. I’ve always envied them because they seem so free, singing the songs God created them to sing with no shame or pretense. But recently, I learned this is not necessarily true.

We went to the Bird Academy Website to identify some ‘chirps’ we didn’t recognize and in the process, we learned the following …

Some birds do hatch instinctively knowing the songs they will sing long into adulthood. But true songbirds (like my favorite, the red cardinal) must learn their life song, and it begins while they’re still in the nest.

They listen to the mature birds singing around them and then when it’s time for them to fly, they attempt to replicate their songs. They practice and practice until their song matches what they’ve learned from their tutors.

I thought about the songs we learned to sing while in the nest, the songs we took with us when we finally spread our wings to fly? I also thought of the behaviors and emotions we carry around. Especially those we may have adopted prior to meeting Jesus.

Emotions like fear of rejection, self-reliance, people-pleasing, peace keeping or defensiveness. Or learned behavior like valuing religious rules and respecting God from a distance rather than learning how to cultivate a loving relationship with Him as our Heavenly Father.

I know for me, I was taught that love and acceptance needed to be earned and I never did measure up. After receiving Jesus, I continued to live in self-protection mode because I did not understand God’s unconditional love and grace for me. Burdened with shame and guilt over my struggles, my fears kept me from asking for help or prayer from other Christians.

Then one day, my friend Andrea invited me to her small group. She was on fire for Jesus and was not afraid to bring things into the light and address them head on. Andrea clued into my behavior and emotions and recognized my broken identity. She said the words that came out of my mouth were the songs my heart learned to sing. Whenever I put myself down, she would interrupt me to say, “Don’t speak that way about the girl that Jesus loves!”

When we lose our voices or our life song is out of tune, we all need a friend to help us realize we are not in a healthy place. We all need an Andrea to remind us who and Whose we are.

Andrea lovingly confronted me and opened my eyes to the fact that for years, I operated like a spiritual orphan. Because I didn’t know my identity in Christ, I was sadly still trying to cope as if I were completely fatherless.

And the song that came out of my mouth reflected my struggle …

SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG

The enemy is on mission to silence our voices but God loves to hear us sing! I love Ps 40:1-3 where David says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him” (NIV, emphasis added).

This “new song” is a very personal response of praise and gratitude that rises up from the heart of a worshipper. 

• Praise for the new thing God is doing in our lives.
• Praise for when He made a way when we thought there was no way.
• Praise for His grace, goodness, love and steadfast faithfulness.
• Praise for the very breath He gave us to praise Him with!

In 2 Samuel 23:1, David is called “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” There are 150 psalms in the Bible, and David wrote 73 of them. What amazes me is that a man who experienced as many trials, heartaches and disappointments as David did could pour out so many beautiful psalms of praise, glory and thanksgiving to God.

David did not have an easy life, not by a long shot. In 1 Samuel 16, at the age of 15, Samuel anointed David king in the midst of his brothers. But then he had to wait another 15 years for God to bring this dream to pass. During his wait, David bravely faced Goliath, was banished and hunted by Saul, lived like a fugitive on the run, hid in caves and fought many battles.

But no matter the giants that taunted him or armies that surrounded him, David chose to listen to one voice only. God’s. And his praises were many!

This is how we find our true voice, our true life song. By listening to God’s voice above all else. Just as the young bird listens to and tries to replicate the parental bird’s song until he perfects it, we can do the same with our Heavenly Father.

David rested securely in God’s love and he remembered and proclaimed God’s goodness and faithfulness to him. Though his burdens were many, David overcame them all because he lived with an unburdened heart.

I love this excerpt from Oswald Chambers:

• “The world does not encourage you to sing, but God does. Song is the sign of an unburdened heart; so sing your songs of love freely, rising ever higher and higher into a fuller understanding of the greatest, grandest fact on the stage of time—God is love.”

One of my favorite hymns is “Come Thou Fount” by Robert Robinson (1758). I would always get choked up singing this line: “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” But the Lord also called my attention to another part of the song: “Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.”

All those years I was in self-preservation mode, I’m sure it saddened the Lord’s heart because my struggle didn’t echo the richness of my Father’s grace towards me. Here I am, many years later, and my heart still needs daily tuning, sometimes even hourly, to keep singing His grace.

But He never gave up on me, and He will never give up on you! Let your praises rise up to Him today, sing it loud girlfriend! 😘💕

Hugs and Prayers,

Sing to the LORD a New Song – Psalm 96:1 @ freshgracefortoday.com

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