Some of the men of the congregation decided they were going to see the old farmer and talk to him about his loud off-key singing. When they got to his place they found him out in the field plowing. He was happily and loudly singing praises to God as he walked behind his old mule.
His happiness and devotion touched the hearts of the other men. They were a little ashamed of themselves. How could they tell him to curb his enthusiasm during worship when he obviously loved singing to the Lord so much? It would be like stealing his joy and they couldn't bring themselves to do that. So they quickly left before the old farmer ever knew they had been there.
Now I must admit I am somewhat like the old man. I love to sing during worship and I love to sing out loudly. It warms my heart to sing songs of praise to our God and to our Savior. Unfortunately, I am also like him in that I cannot sing well at all. I can't carry a tune - I just can't. I'm pretty much tone deaf. Ask any member of my family and they will all tell you the same thing.
The good thing is it doesn't matter to the Lord what my voice sounds like. He only wants me to praise Him. I don't think the Lord really cares if we hit all the right notes.
How softly or loudly we sing is not nearly as important as the fact that our hearts and minds stay focused on Him while we do. He loves it when He knows we are singing with joy in our hearts.
As much as I love to sing, sometimes when we are singing a song we've sung a thousand times, I do find my mind wandering a little bit. It takes discipline to concentrate on the words of the song and what they mean. But if we put forth the effort, we will be truly blessed.
Our singing is a vital part of our worship! We can influence and encourage one another as we lift up beautiful words of praise to our all powerful and all merciful Heavenly Father. It cheers our hearts (or should anyway) to sing songs about heaven and how wonderful it will be. When we sings songs like "Stand Up for Jesus" or "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" or "Faith is the Victory" we are encouraged to face another day of fighting the good fight of faith.
Singing has a great impact on us. There is something about the words of a song (maybe with the rhythm). They become embedded in our memory and soak into our hearts and souls. They lift our spirits and reinforce our learning.
So many songs spiritual songs come directly from scripture and most of us have our favorites. Other songs tell stories - many of the children's songs do that. Some 'adult' songs do too. I will never forget the first time I heard "Thomas's Song" by Ken Young. The words were so powerful, I cried when I heard it. If the song is unfamiliar to you, copy and paste the highlighted section below into your browser. It should take you to the lyrics of the song.
https://dennistcg.com/2010/02/01/thomas%E2%80%99-song-by-ken-young/
I love many different songs; but I suppose my favorite is - and always will be - "Jesus Loves Me." It is timeless because His love for us never changes. No matter what is going on in our lives, if we are on the highest mountaintop or in the deepest valley, the love of Christ will never change! It is the one thing on which we can always depend!
One thing I love about singing scripture, hymns, and songs of praise is we can do this anytime. Just like we can pray and study anytime. We do not have to wait until Sunday morning to sing. Our Lord will love hearing us whenever we praise Him in song.
We can sing on the way to work or on the way home from a child's basketball game. We can sing while we are cooking or sewing or working outside. We can sing at home or when we fellowship with others.
How wonderful it is to know we can be like the old farmer - to know we can praise our God through song at so many different times! Isn't wonderful to know whether we are singing or praying or studying God knows? And it doesn't matter to Him what we sound like.
I think the old farmer was so full of joy and thanksgiving he couldn't help but love to sing. Maybe he knew James 5:13 - "Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise" (ESV).
I love to hear beautiful spiritual songs. I love it even more when beautiful souls are singing with love and joy in their hearts. God does too.
Sing on ye joyful pilgrims!
Christ above all things,
Robin
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