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LET HIM SING PRAISES (JAMES 5:13-15)

REFLECTION
“Let him sing praises” is the theme for our reflection. To sing praises means to enthusiastically extol the virtues, attributes, benefits and the glory of God through music. We shall reflect on the fact that we must express our joyful or happy moments by singing praises to God.

Beloved in the Lord, there are many ways people express happiness or joyful moments. Some people express their happiness by throwing wild parties to eat and get drunk with friends. The key question is, how should a believer or a Christian express his or her happiness or joyful moments? Should a believer follow or subscribe to the mundane or worldly way of expressing happiness or joy? James offers us guidance in how to express our joy as believer, He wrote, “Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (James 5:13). Dear friend singing songs of praise in times of happiness is one of the ways to glorify God. Again, it is one of the ways of introducing God to the unbeliever or rejuvenating the faith of the backslider.

Again, we must sing songs of praise to God because He is the source of our happiness and success in all our endeavours. It is for this reason the Psalmist has taught us to sing “Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. ² Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— ³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalms 103:1-5). Our soul was created and given a body as the temple of the Lord to offer endless praise to the Lord. In addition, the Church as the body of Christ was founded as the fellowship of believers to ceaselessly sing praises to God.

Beloved in the Lord, many of us are lost and ignorant of the will of God therefore instead of praising God, we give His praise to our spouse, children and human benefactor. Anytime we give God’s praise to other people or deity we have engaged in idol worship. We have been warned in Exodus 20:4-5, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God am a jealous God…” As part of our testimony and worship, the Psalmist exhort us in Psalm 150 to “Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. ² Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. ³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, ⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, ⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” Dear friend, you may not be an instrumentalist but you have your mouth to sing, hands to clap and legs to dance. Why don’t you ponder over the goodness of the Lord and the many blessings He has bestowed on you to begin to sing praises to the glory of His Holy Name. God has always been control of our lives and guiding us through thick and thin therefore let us minimize the lamentations. Let us not be sorrowful and hopeless in our disposition but rather sing praises to the Lord, for He has been faithful to us from our mother’s womb. It is for this reason that the Psalmist said “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”(Psalms 8:3-4). Indeed, God owes us nothing but we owe Him everything including songs of praise because He is our creator and sustainer.

In summary, we have learnt that we must express our joyful or happy moments by singing praises to God as believers or children of God. It is our calling to worship God and to sing praises to glorify Him for His immeasurable grace and blessings upon our lives.

PRAYER
Holy Spirit, strengthen us to endlessly sing praises to God even as He continues to manifest His presence or glory in our lives. Amen.