When I was a little girl, I loved going to Sunday school and singing the songs our teachers taught us. Little did I know that these songs would stay with me my whole life and come back at just the right moments. One song that has been playing in my mind recently has been the following. I wonder if you remember it?
"Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning,
Give me oil in my lamp I pray,
Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day.
Sing Hosanna! Sing Hosanna!
Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings (rpt)"
Hosanna in the Bible means 'to save' and is used as a shout of jubilation to the One who saves—our Saviour. He is coming soon, and we need to be ready.
Sing!
On a wall in our house where a series of Scriptures are hung, I again see the word 'Sing!'
"Sing, Daughter Zion;
Shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah chapter 3 verses 14-17)
It seems that while the world is shouting 'Be very afraid!', God - the one who saves - is shouting 'Sing! And be glad!" and I feel a bubbling of joy rise up in me. It's like a clash of the clans but I know which voice I love to listen to, and I know why He is saying "Daughter, Sing!".
Numbered days
You see, the days of the enemy are numbered. His days are coming to a swift end and he is trying to drag as many people with him as possible. But for the children of God, and those who are yet to be part of God's family, our future looks bright!
So bright that even though the world may seem to get darker, God's light is getting brighter and is becoming unmistakably glorious to all who look for Him, and to Him. God's glory will shine throughout the earth as the days till His return grow ever so close.
It is really rather exciting. We know we are victorious because we are on the winning team. Our eyes are not to humankind who breed fear and uncertainty; no, our eyes are on God who knows the present, past and the future—and the future is bright for we are not of this world, but of the world to come:
'But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.' (Philippians chapter 3 verses 20-21)
You can read about it in His Word, the Bible. He knows how it ends, and the end is actually the beginning.
If you are finding that you are leaning more towards the fear of man rather than the fear of God, turn off your radios and turn to the Word:
"The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble" (Proverbs chapter 19 verse 23).
"Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke chapter 24 verse 47).
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