But I will sing of Your strength;
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 59:16
We all struggle with feeling like doing something versus choosing to do it. Because we are saved by grace — and because our eternal destiny is based exclusively on the completed work of Christ, not our own — we can easily give ourselves a pass on “I will” and instead wait for “I feel like” before we act.
The engagement of an I will marks us as women of God. I will means that because my identity is in Him, I choose to lean in … to press in ... to work out the salvation He has provided.
Here in Psalm 59, David’s use of “I will” conveys a deliberate choice. Let’s join with David and choose to do likewise.
David’s I will is a choice to worship. And it’s also a choice to worship at a specific time: morning. Morning worship is a statement of priority. It adopts a first–things–first attitude that declares, “Worship is the priority of my day.” It’s a tithing of our time, if you will.
And worshiping first also means it ripples out to impact everything else that happens in the course of the day.
Worshiping first renews us for the day. Yesterday morning’s worship sustained us for yesterday, but today is a new day. The little irritations, the nagging annoyances, the distractions and frustrations of the day push us out of alignment. Our morning worship is a daily realignment.
Fear and anxiety are typical symptoms of a day with trouble. The degree of the trouble is measured by the depth of our anxiety. Worship is the antidote. We may have no control over the trouble, but we can rein in our response to it.
Worship is the best preparation for trouble, and the best defense when trouble comes.
David’s worship included singing. The lyrics he chose showcased the character of God:
I will sing of your strength,
I will sing of your love.
Over and over again in Scripture, I continue to see confirmation of the overriding character traits of our God — He is GREAT (strong) and He is GOOD (loving).
If He were only loving, but not strong, he would be powerless to protect and provide for us. Because he is strong, He can help. And because He is loving, He wants to.
As our worship draws us to celebrate God’s goodness and His greatness, His strength and His love, we renew our trust in His provision. Our worship keeps us safe in the fortress of His protection.
Collectively, perhaps there has been no season in our generation when we needed the fortress of God more. We are living in trouble. We may not feel like singing, but as women of we can choose to sing. Today, we can declare with David:
I will sing of your strength,
I will sing of your love.
And then let’s do it again tomorrow morning.
There’s another full week in our May study for TIMES OF TROUBLE.
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