I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, (since) the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. (Exodus 15:21 parenthesis mine)

On Monday I claimed we each have a song and that the outward expression of our lives is the singing of that song. I also proposed we have responsibilities to these songs. If you have not yet grasped your part as a composer perhaps I can assist. If the following were the first line of your song, how would you complete it? Remember, you are already singing.

I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, (since) he has… now fill in the blank with your personal experience.

How did you complete your verse? Still struggling? OK, what have you personally experienced with Christ? Exodus 15:3 tells us, the Lord is a warrior. Very well, what enemies has God overthrown in your life? As God’s offspring, we have all had our skirmishes with the world, the flesh and the devil. This is our story / This is our song / (Equipped with these) we are praising our savior all the day long.

These exploits are our lyrics. With our songs we are the bright beams of truth created to shine into the darkness of our specific theaters of warfare. Right here, right now, we are strategically located and divinely equipped to bring glory to God and validity to the gospel’s claim to make all things new.

Some protest, singing their dirges…

I am exempt from exuberant song / I missed the Red Sea Spectacle / Faith is a gift. Some have it. I don’t. / I haven’t seen any miracles. / I have no declarations to make / lyrics composed of my questions do not inspire / blah, blah blah

Moses lived in an hour when God was taking a huge step forward in his self-revelation. We 21st-century people are further down the timeline of this process. In Moses day, the covenant between God and man involved The Law and sacrifice. In our hour, the covenant is administered through grace and faith. So, in this season, instead of waiting for evidence that God can part oceans, we are to simply trust that he can. Rather than waiting for proof, by faith, we are to reckon he is the same then, now and forevermore and relate to him accordingly. Therefore the blanks in our lyrics should get filled in with truths such as this: I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted… 

(since) Jesus has come, taking my punishment upon himself; (since) he has conquered death by his resurrection (since) he sent his Spirit; the Helper to earth (since) his Spirit indwells me – animating my previously dormant spirit; (since) and then, to the on-and-on of our particulars.

Our songs will have both an intimate and a military flavor since much of our personal revelation of God takes place in the heat of battle. It’s really in the trenches where we discover who God is and what he is like. In a fallen world bad things are going to touch our lives. Our songs, if we are honest, will include painful events that seem, at least in the moment, to be a total loss. In theses moments it is a great temptation to see ourselves as casualties of war. But, for those willing to persevere, their eyes will be open to see the present good and an eternity of goodness ahead.

Our stories are not complete. We are destined to overcome. Our songs will ultimately account for those places we have risen from the ashes. Our victories, especially to us, will be no less amazing than Israel’s. Our hearts, too, shall sing…

Who is like Thee among the god’s, Oh Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11)

Father, I pray we may discover and nurture the gift of faith entrusted to us. May we embrace all you aspire to be to us and through us. May our stories be updated with fresh encounters with you and with our victories over the enemy. May Your Bride be equipped with new songs until that day when the grand chorus has filled the earth as the waters fill the oceans. Amen.

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