Scripture: Psalm 147

Reflection: Though I was successful in keeping it from them until last month, my 4 and 2- year-old children have discovered the earworm of a song, “Baby Shark” that has been on repeat in most preschool aged children’s homes for the better part of a year.  It would be an understatement to say that it is catchy.  I find myself humming it while I’m assembling PBJs.  I caught myself gurgling it while brushing my teeth the other day.  It is relentless — repetitive, upbeat, hard to shake once it is has been implanted in your mind.  It sends my children into a wild and happy dance every time — and for them, at least, it never gets old.

I wonder why some songs tend to stick in our minds and others don’t.  Someone smarter than I am could probably answer that.  What is it about “Let it Go” or the theme to “Game of Thrones” that keeps playing in our minds well after we’ve moved on to something else?

Psalm 147 suggests that our lives should be filled with songs of praise — for God’s healing (v3), for God’s providence in creation (v4), for God’s wisdom (v5), for God’s care of those in need (v6), the list goes on.  All day long, there are reasons to begin singing the theme again: God is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

How might you make God’s praise manifest in you today? Will you literally sing?  Will you stop and notice God at work in your little corner of the kingdom and take the time to return thanks? Will you write it down in a journal or on a sticky note and tape it to your computer to remind yourself of the reality of God’s steadfast love? Settle on a practice to help the song “catch” for you, so that it becomes a part of your daily rhythm.

Prayer: Tune my heart to sing thy grace, O God. Amen.

Author: Anna Dickson

[Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved].