Don’t Wait to Rejoice!

Scripture:  Psalm 96:2 NKJV  - Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.        

While listening to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” a 2008 song recorded by contemporary Christian group Casting Crowns, I was reminded of the unique wonder, beauty, and majesty that such music invokes.  Songs about the Savior’s first arrival are uniquely uplifting and  worthy of year round listening-- whenever the stuff of life tries to arrest your thoughts and fixate them on all that appears to be hopeless, discouraging, or just mundane in our day to day lives.
 
Songs of our Redeemer’s coming to earth—eg. “Joy To The World,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” and many others-- celebrate the awakening of God’s people to the beauty of walking instep EACH day with the Savior, and, in anticipation of the fulfillment of His promise to  SOON return! (Revelation 22:20) The world offers NOTHING to compete with such hope!  The present year, with its early onslaught of a pandemic—something of which we in this generation, heretofore, have only seen the likes in apocalyptic disaster films-- can draw a hungering, world-weary soul to the Creator God, asking, ‘How long, O Lord?”  (Psalm 13).  Yet, in the stanzas of classic uplifting Christmas songs like those mentioned above, we CAN know and rejoice daily that this world is NOT our home! (Philippians 3:20)  
 
Amid the high death toll, economic instability and uncertainty, and the tenuous hope to which many have sought reasons to rejoice-- based upon who will occupy the White House in January-- the greatest unparalleled wonder and  hope are STILL to be found in a personal relationship with Jesus the Christ, who came for the sole purpose of gifting us with His own righteousness!  He gives the believing soul a righteousness that’s NOT his/ her own!! (It doesn’t get any BETTER than that, my friends)!  What better vehicle for rejoicing year-round than with songs that remind us of His wondrous grace, mercy, and devotion to us, His purchased and elect people!!

Prayer:  Dear Abba,  in Your time, all things will be made new, You tell us in Isaiah 65:17 and Rev. 7:17; yet through the power and blessed assurance of Your indwelling Spirit, we  Your twice-born ones need not wait to rejoice! Help us to daily reflect on these truths.  Thank You, in Jesus’ name! Amen!

(by Denise Diggs)