Then Sings My Soul

 Then Sings My Soul - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3 Do you praise God in everything? I know I’m very lax in praising God when I face trouble. My prayers in times of trouble are more apt to be prayers of panic rather than praise.That’s not something I’m proud of, and I’m trying to change my ways. I do thank Him and praise Him when I look back and it’s obvious that God had been with me all the time, but I had been so blinded by fear or I had allowed the troubles to cloud my mind. Godis deserving of our praise in all things. The Psalms give many examples of the writers, especially King David, facing troubles and crying out to God. Then, as each psalm progresses, we see the writer praising God. The circumstances hadn’t changed, but theattitude of the psalmist had changed. Troubles are real, but so is God. When storms rage around us and we feel as if we are about to lose the battle, try singing praise to God. Let your soul sing with His praises! There was a young preacher in Sweden named Carl Boberg. He had a 2 mile walk from a church meeting to his home and was thinking of the beauty of God’s creation. The yearwas 1886, so when a thunderstorm rolled in, he had no choice but to continue walking as the rain came down and the thunder rolled. It must have been frightening with thunder rolling and lightning flashing. One can imagine the beauty of the Swedish countrysideand the evidence of God’s power that Mr. Boberg saw on that walk. As he walked, he thought of God, and His power, and wrote the words to one of the most beloved songs ever written. HOW GREAT THOU ART - Written by Carl Boberg O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. When a person looks at God’s creation through the eyes of a believer, there is so much to marvel at. Every star, every planet, the trees, animals, flowers, at everything aroundus. God created it all in 6 literal days. “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.” Genesis 1:16. If the sun was closer to the earth, it would be much too hot for lifeto exist; any farther away, we would all freeze. God is all knowing and knew exactly the perfect placement of all things in the universe. His power is truly awesome. Have you ever looked closely at God’s creation? It’s miraculous that birds have feathers specificallydesigned to allow them to fly. Have you ever marveled over an eye? It dilates to let exactly enough light in to allow us to see, then contracts so not too much damages the eye. It’s no accident that our brain interprets the images and we can see all thingsaround us. God is awesome, and worthy of our worship. We are to worship God, and not worship His creation. It’s good to be in awe of His creation, and many people say they find God in nature. It’s good to recognize God’s handiwork. Remember, though, that youneed true faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to obtain everlasting life. When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze. If you’ve ever had the blessing of walking in a forest, or along the seashore, or climbed a mountain, you can understand how Mr. Boberg felt as he walked along the road tohis home. Birds each have a song they sing and each song is beautiful. The view of the world from the top of a tall mountain is indescribable. God created a beautiful world for us to admire and see the evidence of His handiwork. David saw God all around himas he watched his flock of sheep, while God prepared him to be king over Israel. Although David saw the beauty in the world, he never worshiped the creation, but praised God. Even in times of trouble, he trusted God. While David was waiting to become kinginstead of King Saul, there was a battle between Saul’s army and the Philistines. The Philistines had a “champion” named Goliath who was a giant who stood over 9 feet tall. Saul’s army cowered in the rocks in fear of this giant. David had no fear and saidhe would fight Goliath. Saul saw that David was young and not a trained soldier, but David had been trained by God. “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I wentout after him and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeinghe hath defied the armies of the living God.” 1 Samuel 17:34-36. David’s home was in the peaceful hills around Bethlehem, but he was confident in his ability to kill Goliath because he had confidence that God was with him. “David said moreover, The LORD thatdelivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, God, and the LORD be with thee.” 1 Samuel 17:37. God’s power is displayed in nature, and will manifestin His people if we put our confidence in Him. And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Of all the awesome wonders of nature, the greatest gift that God has given to humanity is His Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoeverbelieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18. I love these verses. Faith in Jesus takes our condemnation away. We all sin, and will continue to sin until we’re taken home. Because Jesus Christ willingly entered intoHis creation, and willingly went to the cross, all we need to do is believe in His death, burial, and resurrection and our condemnation is taken away. We cannot do enough good works to earn our salvation, but good works should be a result of our faith in Jesus.Anger, gossiping, pride, and more should be nailed to the cross. When we repent of sin, we are forgiven, but we must remember that repent means to turn away from. It’s one thing to say “I know I get angry, and I’m sorry”, and quite another to submit that angerhumbly before Christ and turn away from it. That goes for all sin, not just anger. Jesus died for you and for me. He took the sin of the entire world upon Himself. He had no sin, but took mine and yours. O Lord, my God, thank You. When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!" Everyone will one day enter into life eternal. You will either live eternally with Jesus in Heaven, or you will live eternally in the lake of fire. Only true faith in Jesusgives you eternal life instead of eternal death. Our bodies are mortal but our souls are eternal. For a Christian, our eternal future is bright. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians5:8. Only faith in Jesus will allow you to live eternally with Him. Repent of your sin now. Turn away from it and turn to Christ. Witness to your friends and family. Your witness will be compromised if you continue in your sin. The decision is yours and itmust be made while living in this life. We are all one heartbeat from eternity. On the other hand, the signs all indicate that we are very near to the moment of the Rapture when Jesus will call all Christians Home. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall notall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. If you haven’t given your life toChrist, you’ll be left on earth to face the Great Tribulation. It will be a time like no other time in history. Read Revelation beginning in chapter 6. The wrath that God pours out upon an unbelieving world is something you don’t want to be a part of. AcceptChrist for salvation, and submit your life to Him. You will never regret it. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art! God is truly great and awesome. “The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.” Proverbs 26:10. Do you want the reward of a fooland a transgressor? We all make our own choice. We are all transgressors, and only a fool would reject God’s free gift of salvation that only comes from faith in Jesus. Your soul will sing for joy! God is truly great, awesome, and above all gods. God bless you all, Nathele Graham