New Song

"Put a new song in my mouth of praise to you, and the world will see and fear Your name." ~ Most High (Hillsong United)

Psalm 33:3a ~ Sing a new song of praise to Him;

I went to bed with this verse on my mind last night. Sing a NEW song. Why a new song? What does that even mean? Here's what God spoke to me. The verse doesn't just say "sing a new song", it says, "sing a new song OF PRAISE". He doesn't want you to stay where you're at; to become stagnant. As you go deeper with Him, He'll reveal things to you, things you didn't even comprehend before. For instance, He protects us from all kinds of things without our knowledge. He is fighting for you in high places. You could put yourself in a situation, let's say a romantic relationship, and you get upset at God when it crumbles. At that point in time, you don't understand why He would do something like that - something that would hurt you. But as you grow in Him and He begins to reveal things to you, you realize He was PROTECTING you, because He has something far better in store. I speak this one from personal experience. This is why we need to sing a NEW song of praise to Him. You can't be singin' the same old song when He reveals something to you that you didn't see before. Don't stay where you're at, but live wanting more of Him, more understanding, and He'll give you a new song, one with which to truly praise Him.

Beloved of the King

It just hit me what an IMMENSE privilege it is to call Him, the God of the universe, ours. That He would reach out to become our true Lover, the one who knows the innermost parts of us, yet still loves us more than we could ever comprehend. We are His beloved - servants who are drawn into His courts by the King. His heart is to give us the best. The earth was created for OUR PLEASURE. He loves us so much He made an entire environment for us to enjoy. You are utterly ADORED by Him, and every moment you spend with Him is an opportunity for Him to tell you that. How favored are we to be able to say, "I am His and He is mine." Jesus gave everything for us, and we can live a life giving our praise back to Him. I consider that a remarkable blessing, not a burden. When the veil was torn, it signified that we could come before the King, unashamed, because we had been made clean. We can have constant communion with Him, and He will never, ever get annoyed with us, or decide He doesn't want to hang around us anymore. God will always see us for what we are - His beloved.

In the Stillness, There is Breakthrough

Not all spiritual battles are fought with shouting and jumping, or getting all riled up. Sometimes, God will break things in the quiet.... when you're willing to surrender every part of you, even those things you've had a death grip on for a very long time. When you have a moment of stillness with the Lord, sometimes it makes Him that much more able to speak to you and move on your behalf. Passion does not equal outspokenness, and God doesn't require you to be loud or excessively outgoing to use you. People who are PASSIONATE and USABLE are not always the ones who draw the most attention to themselves. Occasionally, someone who will listen will impact far more than someone who is quick to start telling them what they need to do. The world is full of people and the media TELLING them what they should do, but what if we become listeners? Wouldn't that stand out, rather than being just another voice bombarding them? We are called to be set apart; to be different than the world. Yes, absolutely, there is a time to speak out, and to stand up for righteousness, but sometimes breakthrough occurs and battles are fought when we're willing to listen and hear both what our Father says and the hurts of those that surround us. That way, we'll know His will and the hurts of our generation, and we can advance the Kingdom far more effectively.

Utterly Beautiful