Read Colossians 3:15-17

“Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” -Colossians 3:16b

For Christians, singing has always been important.  Multiple New Testament verses testify to this early church practice for communicating with God. Music touches us deeply in ways that nothing else can.

Our roots as Methodists also reveal a love for music as a means of expressing our faith. Charles Wesley composed hundreds of hymns, a number of which we still sing today—“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” for example. And John Wesley thought it was so important that he wrote instructions for congregational singing, including the exhortation to “sing lustily!”

When it comes to expressing thanks, then, it’s no surprise that we are encouraged to sing to God. Consider the great hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” In the chorus, when we sing “all I have needed thy hand hath provided,” how could our hearts not swell with a deep sense of gratitude.

Gratitude is the first stop for us on this journey of imagining the future. When we remember with gratitude the many blessings God pours into our lives, our hearts begin cultivating the desire to be a blessing for others.

So sing out today…and don’t worry if the neighbors hear you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!     

What are some of God’s provisions for which you are grateful?

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McKenzie, Scott and Miller, Kristine. The Journey Begins. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 2013.