Lift your voice in song to God
"Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud..!"
- Isaiah 54:1 (NKJV)
Singing is something I've enjoyed for years. As a young girl I sang in our church junior choir, and even in our grade school chorus group. I continued to sing in choirs as an adult.
Every so often, if I'm having trouble clearing my head of negative thoughts, I like to take the car for a spin around the block, turn on the radio and sing. It soothes my troubled soul.
Some people sing in the shower. Others sing as they go about their tasks. While many people can carry a tune, others can't. But that doesn't really matter.
When we sing positive tunes, the upbeat rhythms awaken our senses and fill our souls with joy. The sound of our voice singing a happy tune turns our blues to bliss and gives us a positive feeling.
In biblical times, when a woman was infertile, it was blamed as her fault and she was considered a failure. Barren women were looked down upon by society in many ways.
However, the Bible tell us of many accounts when barren women refused to become bitter, but instead prayed and sang praise to God. After many years, God fulfilled their desires, despite the fact their situation seemed hopeless.
It's hard for us to sing praises in the face of desperate and barren situations. But the act of praising releases our burden to God and causes the heaviness of our hearts to become light, bringing us closer to him
His presence of joy amid our adversity frees us from doubts and heals our burdened souls. It actually produces positive hormones that make us feel better.
Lifting our voice in song to God doesn't guarantee our prayers will be answered just as we would like. But song chases away the blues - the enemy of our soul - and keeps our hearts from becoming bitter toward God.
Giving praise births a new attitude in our hearts and releases blessings into our daily lives.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She is available to speak at your church or business, or be your personal coach. Contact her at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413. Visit www.annetteebudzban.com.