"Sing to the Lord: Even When You Don't Feel Like Singing!"
Sermon Presented November 21, 2004
Psalm 100
I started thinking about this sermon last Sunday, but nothing seemed to gel until Thursday morning. At that time, I canceled my plans to attend a seminar in Cudahy to do some real "sermon" work. I think my mental block came because of an awareness of where we are today, and for many, praise is most difficult!
Our sermon text for this morning is the second most familiar psalm in the psaltery - second only to Psalm 23. It's one I memorized as a child and one I can still quote from memory. But what do you do when you can't sing? What do you do when grief is alive and welling up in your soul? How do you make a joyful noise to the Lord in these circumstances? Let's look at this psalm as an invitation to initiate praise to God - even when we are in the pits!
Psalm 100 (Read text.)
This familiar psalm is one of thanksgiving and praise to God. When the psalmist first sang it or prayed it and later wrote it, I'm sure he felt great! He was aware of God's blessings and as the familiar hymn goes, he could "count his blessings and name them one by one." It was a good time! However, many of us aren't in this place of praise and the psalmist wasn't always there either.
Thursday morning I spoke with a minister friend from Kansas who reminded me that this weekend marks the first anniversary of her mother's death. She choked up as she talked. I spoke with someone else last week who is grieving the onset of winter. Her world is painted gray. Some are facing their first Thanksgiving without the physical presence of a loved one. Some lost a dearly loved pet last week. Others are dealing with family or health problems. Still others are experiencing financial insecurity or concerns over aging. When grief and anxiety and pain inhabit us, it's difficult to praise. For most of us, praise comes during good times when we have positive feelings. And for most of us, God gets credit for the good things and if we're honest, blame for the bad. "Why didn't you do something about this, Lord? I don't understand!"
So, what do we do when we don't feel like singing or praising God? How do we cope during this Thanksgiving season, let alone move to praise? Let me begin with a suggestion of what "not to do."
Many years ago when I was married, Don planned a brief meeting with a client at a bar in Sedalia, MO. We were on our way to Lake of the Ozarks and this was a convenient place to meet. I sat alone sipping my Diet Coke while they visited. As I sat there trying to read, I was overwhelmed with the sadness of the music that emanated from the jukebox. The subject matter of this country-western music was drawn from the grief of loss - most frequently that of a lover - resulting in drowning sorrows in alcohol. As we got into the car to leave, I told Don that if people weren't depressed when they entered the establishment, they surely would be when they left. Depressing music, darkness and alcohol make positive thinking and praise almost impossible. Your environment matters!
After telling you what not to do, let me give you some suggestions of how to get to the place where you can sing and praise and give thanks authentically. First, start where you are. If you are depressed or grieving, begin with the lament psalms and not Psalm 100. Between 1/3 and 1/2 of all of the psalms are lament psalms and they are just as important for our faith journeys as are those of praise and thanksgiving.
Lament psalms begin with a lament, but usually end with praise when the depression of the psalmist lifted. Don't rush the move from lament to praise, but first speak lament and then move toward praise. For example, let's look at Psalm 13.
It begins with these words:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Now hear the ending.
But I trusted in your steadfast love;
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The first step is to begin where you are. If in grief, begin with lament. But don't stay there. The next step is to move into the obedience of offering praise, even when you have no great feelings of well being and thanksgiving. Even when you don't "feel" like praising God, try singing - or at least begin listening to praise music!
Next I would suggest that you acknowledge what you know in your head but can't feel emotionally. It takes an act of faith to affirm a truth we cannot feel. Therefore, we must feed our faith. Singing or just reading the great hymns of faith can help to strengthen us.
For example, I believe that the words of Charles Wesley's great hymn O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing can raise us to new faith and praise.
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace.Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease,
'tis music to the sinner's ears, 'tis life and health and peace.He speaks, and listening to his voice, new life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; the humble poor believe.
Or listen to these familiar words from God Will Take Care of You.
Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
Or hear these words from Open Our Eyes, Lord.
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch him,
and say that we love him.Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen,
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.
Another suggestion for movement toward praise is to find those who can praise and join them. Seek out positive people. If you sing well, consider joining the choir. If not, attend worship weekly and join in the hymns of praise that we sing together as a congregation. Sometimes just the rote singing of The Doxology can lift us into praise - especially when Wilanna gives us the grand introduction. You never know when or how the movement from lament to praise will occur, but you can help it along by doing things that are faithful to God's call.
Another means of movement to praise is presented in our text. The psalmist said Enter God's gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. We begin with thanksgiving. As we concentrate on what we have to be thankful for, we can begin listing them. The list may be slow in development, depending on the depth of your grief, but consider the positives in your life: family, a place to live, friends, enough to eat, positive time you had with a deceased loved one, past or present good health, love of God. Hopefully the list will grow as you consider your blessings.
It's important for us to be authentic with God. It doesn't make sense to make out like a fountain of praise when we feel like the pits inside. We can't fool God and we surely don't fool ourselves. But we can move toward thanksgiving and eventually to praise by meditating on our blessings and making positive steps toward praising God. Let's give God thanks and praise because the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness is to all generations.
Amen and amen!
