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Sing For Joy To God! Praise Him For All He Has Done!



"Sing for joy to God our strength! I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt."
Psalm 81:1a, 10a (NIV1984)

During Lent we look forward to the coming of Easter Sunday, the day that we are filled with overwhelming joy and celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. This is our great reason to sing for joy to God. This is why we are called to sing for joy in so many different ways. However, Jesus' resurrection from the dead is not our only reason for singing praise to God!

In our passage today (Psalm 81), the psalmist not only tells us that it is a decree for Israel and an ordinance of God that the people sing for joy to God, but he also lists out many reasons for the people of Israel to praise God. God moved the burdens of the people and set their hands free from the work of slavery in Egypt. He set them free from Egypt and provided for all of their needs. He heard their calls of distress and answered them when they were wandering in the desert. These are only just a few of the reasons that the people of Israel had to motivate themselves to sing for joy to God their strength!

We may have never experienced slavery in our own lives, but we recognize that many people still do today. We may have never had a horrible burden of physical labor forced upon us in our own lifetimes, but we know that this is the plight of many people even today. We may have never experienced true starvation and thirst in our lives, but we understand that people die of these evils daily. Although we may not have experienced the evils of slavery, forced labor, and starvation and thirst, we have all experienced hardships and the results of sin, evil, and death in the world.

No matter what hardships we have experienced in life as followers of Jesus Christ, we know that God has everything in control and that he has the power to release us from our troubles. He has done so in the past and continues to do so today for those who love him and listen to him. Those are the occasions when we experience the overwhelming need to sing for joy to God who is our strength just as the Israelites did thousands of years ago. Sing for joy to God who is your strength today. Praise him for all he has done in your life and also for all he has done for his people throughout history!

 Prayer:
God of my strength, I sing for joy and praise you for your mighty works. I have had many falls in my life and you have been there to pick me up each and every time. Not only that, but you willingly died in my place and have forgiven me of all of my sins. You are my God and you are my strength. Strengthen me to always rely on you throughout my life and give me the boldness to express my gratitude to others. Amen!

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