New Year, New Song

I begin this post with a confession. Today, for the first time, I forgot to blog.

Now, to give myself a little grace, I've always said that if I can post by 11:59 pm Tuesday or Saturday, then I've hit my mark. But I usually wake up in the morning excited to spend an hour or two in "blogworld." Not so today. Nope, today it hit me at about 10 am that it was a blogging day.

I guess you can say that I'm a little preoccupied these days. "Preoccupied with what?" you're wondering. So glad you asked...

Continuing with our word study of the word "new" in the Bible, let's take a walk through Psalms today. It'll be a short walk, I promise. But I think you'll be glad you came along. Take my hand and go with me to Psalms.

I love the Psalms. They are so beautiful, so artistic, so poetic. And rightly so. The Psalms were originally songs set to music. When you read them, just imagine the music of a harp in the background, giving melody and rhythm to the words.

Sculpture of King David, Mount Zion in Jerusalem

I especially love the Psalms of David. They are pure and rich. They are honest and raw. And they take us through David's mountains and valleys of life. They express his love for God. They expose his struggle with sin. They reveal his fear of his enemies that sought to take his life. And they express the inner turmoil we all feel at times. Those times when we're our worst enemy. Which brings us to Psalm 40:1-3.

"I waited patiently for the LORD, he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD."

David rejoices over God's answer to his prayers to lift him out of the pit of his own mind. Can you relate? I sure can.

His response to the LORD lifting Him out? Praise! And not just any kind of praise, but singing. "A hymn of praise."

Earlier I alluded to being a bit preoccupied. Well, it's time to spill the beans. No, I'm not pregnant! Well, then again, I am pregnant -- pregnant with a dream, a burden, a mission.

This year, the Lord has revealed His desire for me to write a Bible study on the minor prophets of the Old Testament. In my last post I shared about my love affair with the minor prophets. I'm hoping to spur a love in others for the minor prophets too. For months I've been thirsty for the water of the Word. I'm hoping to create a thirst in others too.

I don't know how it will all pan out. I certainly can't do anything in others' hearts that God's not doing. But I sure hope He chooses to use me in the process. He's given me a new song. It's a song of grace, of love, of redemption. It's a song of His love for His people. It's a song of His jealousy for His people. It's a song that urges us to release the idols of our day: money, the media and fame at any cost.

It's the same song that Hosea and Micah and Zechariah sang about 2700 years ago.

Will you pray for me as I pen the lyrics of my new song?

Carla