Sometimes people don’t do something because, as is said, “I didn’t have the heart for it.” There are also times people lose heart because of something they are experiencing in life. What is in the heart and on what our heart is most focused will have a dynamic impact on our actions either positively or negatively. (i.e. Luke 6:45) Is our heart focused where our life joy is being restrained or sustained?
In one of the psalms we read. . .
“(1) By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. (2) On the willows there we hung up our lyres. (3) For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (4) How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:1-4 ESV)
Though their captors appear to have been familiar with the beauty of the “songs of Zion”, these people of God just didn’t have a heart to sing under their present conditions. However, before they had lost the heart to sing, they had lost their heart for obedience to God’s Will. The nation had been taken captive by Babylon because their heart had not been right with God. Therefore, it wasn’t actually a return geographically that these captives needed, but a spiritual return; a turning of the heart back to faithfulness to God that would have brought back the spirit of song.
Is our heart remaining duly focused on God? Is our spirit of song sustained by a heart remaining surrendered to Him? If not, we might as well just hang up our hymnals and be quiet regardless of how beautiful the hymns might have seemed to the world around us. What gives meaning and power to the song is the soul surrendered to the Sovereign Will of God. This is despite being in a foreign land since our true citizenship is above. (Philippians 3:20) May our heart continue to be drawn toward God so that the genuine adoration and praise of our song is drawn from deep within us!
Have a great day SUSTAINED BY A HEART SURRENDERED TO GOD!
Carl
