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Listen while you read: "Through All The Changing Scenes"1
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I was struck by an unusual sight one day as I walked by the kindergarten room. There was Sophia sitting in a little chair right in front of the gerbil cage, in a world of her own. The rest of the children had gone for the day, but for some reason, Sophia was still there, singing. She swayed back and forth, pouring out her heart as she kept her eyes on the gerbil playing amidst the wood shavings. She's singing to the gerbil! I thought.
Do we sing with such fervour to those whom we love? We do at birthdays! Most of us have not lost our childlike enjoyment of that moment in the spotlight when, with all eyes upon us, we listen to a joyful song as our family and friends celebrate with us another year of life.
A mother sings her fussy baby to sleep. The baby doesn't understand the words of the lullaby, but is soothed by the rhythm and gentle tones of its mother's voice. Even my preschool grandchildren liked to have a song sung to them at bedtime.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. (NIV)
During this pandemic, I've found comfort in a joyful song based on this verse, "The Blessing", especially the version "The Blessing [Kids]". I first heard it in the early days of the pandemic, when our worship team sang it to an empty church. We were able to hear them, because they sang to us, a congregation in our individual homes, via livestream. My anxiety is calmed when I hear this song. It reminds me where my strength and confidence lie — not in my problems and the insecurity of the world situation — but in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
But even more amazing are the joyful songs that the Lord sings over us:
Zephaniah 3:17 – For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (NLT)
Just as Sophia sang over the gerbil and we sing over our children, the Lord rejoices over us with joyful songs. Let us all realize and rejoice in the fact that God, our mighty Saviour, lives among us, delights in us, and calms all our fears.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You rejoice in us with gladness, quieting us with Your love. You even sing over us! Lord, bless us and keep us; Lord, make Your face shine on us and be gracious to us; Lord, turn Your face toward us and give us peace. Amen.
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About the author:
Alice Burnett <terrencera.burnett@gmail.com>
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
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Thanks for sharing, Alice. Very inspirational. God bless!
Perfect for these days. Thank you so much.
(NS)
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us, and especially the Praise blessings! Blessings and prayers.
Dear Alice,
Thank you for this gentle, loving, tender, and praise-filled writing. We are a blessed people.
I taught K for many years. I can surely picture this little girl. What a wonderful devotional reminding us of how much our God loves us. Thank you so much.
Another beautiful devotional, Alice. Thanks. Hope you are enjoying the season and the loosening of covid restrictions!
God bless you.
Hi Alice,
Thank you for your very encouraging devotion and the link to the Children singing the blessing song. It is so beautiful. I think I will play it for my congregation.
Good morning Alice
Thank you for your good devotional this morning. During these difficult times for most, if not all of us, the Lord does give us the strength to carry on for sure.
Blessings.
Dear Alice,
Thank you so much for your beautiful, inspired Devotional… words I needed to hear. I feel blessed by it!
Blessings and Joy,
(Ontario)
Thank you, Alice, for your devotional and for sharing “The Blessing” and “The Blessing (Kids)”, so wonderful seeing the children singing with such joy and enthusiasm, brought tears to my eyes, children are such a blessing.
Blessings.
Greetings Alice,
Yes, our Lord gives us much joy in our lives as we know He is always on watch over us. There is so much peace in following His word and the words in the hymns we sing give so much reassurance too. Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and blessings for your writings.
Alice, this is a wonderful devotional. Thank you for the description of Sophia’s joyful singing as a reminder of the Lord’s delight over us. I too share your love of the song The Blessing, which always enfolds me like a huge hug for the present moment and for the future… my children, and their children, AND their children! Today I am praying for that for a great nephew born too early last month, weighing only 2lb. 5 oz. He’s in the NICU. God is singing over him, I know!
Good morning Alice,
What a beautiful message that you are giving us this morning. It is so true all the times we enjoy singing, or being sung to, so of course God enjoys our praise songs to him and he sings to us to comfort us and let us know he loves us. Truly a beautiful video of so many children singing “The Blessing” and the earnestness in their faces and voices. This is a beautiful start to my day. Thank you for sharing with all the ordinary examples in our lives. I join with you in your wonderful prayer to start my day. May many blessings come your way.
Dear Alice. I just listened to Blessing! WOW! What a powerful song. I pray all of us will be filled with such energy to serve the Lord. I am going to try and put it in my Facebook page.
Now about singing, as an empty nester, I started sing to my cats for fun. Little did I know they would love it; Especially when I added their names to whatever little ditty came to mind. It’s especially noteworthy in that I really cannot sing. Oh for the love of little ones!
God bless you Alice and thank you so much for your beautiful devotional and sending along the song Blessing.
Thank you. We need daily to refresh our understanding as you put it. “Realize and rejoice in the fact that God, out mighty Saviour, lives among us , delights in us, and calms all our fears”.
One evening several years ago, I lay in a hospital bed waiting to have open heart surgery the next morning. At 11 pm I thought I should get to sleep. Thanks to my cell phone I listened to a serenely beautiful rendition of the Aaronic blessing by an English choir directed by John Rutter and then David Haas singing his song “You are Mine”. I turned my phone off and promptly fell asleep, my mind and heart at peace. The surgery the next day went very well. Your devotional reminded me of God’s blessing that evening and the next day.
Blessings.
Wonderful memories and thoughts, Alice.