sing

I love being a dad. I mean, I absolutely love it. Granted, there are a few parts of parenting that aren’t much fun. When your child is very young, you have to do terribly nasty things like change poopy diapers. (I never imagined that I would ever use the word “poopy” in a blog post…I feel strangely proud.) There are nights when you’re required to get up in the middle of the night to clean up after an upset stomach finds relief…not fun. Neither is it enjoyable to deal with the drama that often follows when you tell a four-year-old, “No.” Doling out discipline is torturous. I now understand what my parents meant when they said absurd things like, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” When my dad said something like that I always wanted to knowingly nod my head and reply, “I understand. Don’t put yourself through it.” Fortunately, even as a child I had a modicum of wisdom that helped me resist the urge to say something that would surely have caused me even greater pain that I was about to endure. On top of these things, I cringe in fear when I think of the horrors that await me as a future dad of teenage girls, but I digress.

While it’s true that there are difficult, messy, and painful responsibilities that I have to tend to as a dad, the weight of those things is nothing compared to the joy that I find. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to those moments when one of my girls walks up to me and gives me a kiss, not because she wants something from me, but just because she loves me. Deep pleasure wells up inside my heart when I hear my girls laughing and giggling as they play. My soul feels warm when my girls want to cuddle with me on the sofa as the day is winding down. My life as a dad is absolutely filled with joy.

One of the greatest of these joys is when my daughters and I share our love of music. My girls love to sing and dance. In our house, it is not uncommon to be treated to an impromptu dance recital or a spontaneous vocal performance filled with songs, some of which are recognizable and others that are born out of the moment. I love to hear my girls sing. When we are driving in the car, I love to crank up one of our favorite songs and we sing together at the top of our lungs. The notes aren’t always in tune (for you American Idol fans, “That was a little pitchy, dog.”), but I don’t care. When my little girls sing, Daddy’s heart melts.

I believe that when we sing to our God and willingly lavish our love on Him He is pleased. As our Heavenly Father, His love for us knows no bounds and His heart is filled with joy when He hears his children sing. Listen to just a little of what the Bible says about singing to the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:23–25 (ESV) - Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.

Psalm 13:6 (ESV) - I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 59:16–17 (ESV) - But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 95:1–3 (ESV) - Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Isaiah 5:1 (ESV) - Let me sing for my beloved my love song…

Zechariah 2:10 (ESV) - Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.

This is just a tiny sampling of literally hundreds of verses that tell us to sing to our God. Don’t let it be mere cognitive knowledge. Let it sink into your heart and put it into action. Sing to Him! Let your heart overflow with love! Don’t hold back! Don’t let anything stop you! You’re singing for an audience of one, and He doesn’t care if it’s “pitchy.” Your song of love for Him brings joy beyond measure to His heart. So, open your mouth wide, throw your shoulders back, and sing with all the intensity you can muster! Your Father will love it.