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A New Song
Andrea Lende • April 15, 2020
Psalm 40:2-3
A New Song
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/A-New-Song-ecq21k
Daily Word:
Psalm 40:2-3
“He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my going.”
“And He has put a new song in mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.”
These verses stood out to me today.
The words are appropriate for my life and may be in yours as well.
Only the Lord can lift us up to Himself.
I am unable to put me and keep me in the presence of the Lord.
My nature is still human.
I dream, set goals, have high hopes, pursue, and then fall.
I have had many dreams over the years.
I have pursued most of them.
However, God has redirected my course over and over again.
Sometimes I mourn over the fact that it took me so long to follow God.
I have always loved Him.
But I have generally gone my own way instead of consult, Him.
I feel like the Israelites in the desert wandering around and around for years.
God tried to get their attention.
But they continued to revert back to their human side.
They seemed cut off from God’s presence.
All but Moses.
Moses was continually in God’s presence and was His messenger.
Sometimes he would leave the camp for days.
When he came back, he found they had reverted to their own desires.
There were so many times that the Israelites did not trust God.
They continued to move away from Him.
And as they did, they did not survive.
Thankfully, God has been patient with me.
He has continued to redirect my path.
And He has been successful.
In my later years I want only to answer to Him.
I desire to do His will over mine.
I want to become more compassionate and loving to all people.
I want to be more patient.
I want to be more generous.
And I want less of what the world offers, and more of what the Lord offers.
As the process continues, the Lord grants me opportunities to praise Him!
I love to worship Him.
He has put a new song in my heart.
One of praise and thanksgiving.
Today I choose to praise God in all that I do and pray that He will keep me praising Him all the days of my life.
May you find that the Lord will pick you up, dust you off, lead you into His plan, and put a new song in your heart.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for picking me up and moving me out of my own way. Thank You for leading me to You, Father. Thank You for showing me how much You love me. Thank You for showing me more of You. The more I learn of You the more I love You. I praise You, Lord! You are greatly to be praised! I worship You! You have replaced my own thoughts and yearnings with a new song of praise to You, Father, Keep me Yours, Lord. Keep my Yours. Continue to teach me more of Your ways and show me how to do Your will. Help me hear the whispers You speak to me and be obedient to every command. Strengthen me in every way so that I may carry out Your desires, Lord. Help me do all that You ask me to do. Help me serve with joy. May Your joy invade my soul. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: You are Mine, sayeth the Lord, and will always be Mine.
Response: Undeservedly Yours, Lord, thank You Almighty God and Father.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.