A Closer Walk
2021 is here. Is it a great year, good year, fair year, poor year? We don't know yet. But here is something we do know and can count on. Our God. The Lord God Almighty. Our Father which art in heaven. "O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land," Psalm 95:1-5 NASB.
We have begun navigating through this new year, being aware 2020 has taught us that each year must be navigated through as well as lived through. So let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Singing and music have a way of lifting our spirits and changing our mindset from sadness or anxiety into joy. Music and singing can make our spirits soar. Christian music in particular seems to have this ability. Almost anything written by Bill and Gloria Gaither touches many hearts. Michael W. Smith has also written some great songs. If we go further back in time Fanny J. Crosby wrote the words to almost 9000 different hymns. She worked with William Doane (1832-1915) and Ira Sankey (1840-1908) who composed the music for her lyrics. And she worked with other composers as well. "To God Be The Glory; Blessed Assurance; Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior; Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus Our Blessed Redeemer; Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It" being counted among her most loved hymns. We have an abundant supply of choices to sing or listen to as a help to navigate this year.
But why do all this singing? Because the Lord God is worthy of our praises. Our praising can be done with words alone, or as songs and music. Psalm 95 instructs us to sing for joy to the Lord and to shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Our God is the rock of our salvation. He is a great God (capital G). And a great King above all gods (small g). In His hands are the depths of the earth. The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it. And it was His hand that formed the dry land. “For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), I am the Lord, and there is none else,” Isaiah 45:18 NASB.
In addition to all these things, our God helped us get all the way through 2020. And we should praise Him and thank Him for doing so. As 2021 dawns we hope for a better year this year than last year. But in the words of Job, “But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips,” Job 2:10 NASB. And further, “And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord,'” Job 1:21 NASB.
“Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my savior am happy and bless'd, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.” Third stanza and refrain from “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!” Lyrics by Fannie J. Crosby 1820-1915, Music by Phoebe Palmer Knapp 1839-1908.