…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord…

    Ephesians 5:19

It’s always a good thing for us to assess our lives by comparing how we live to what scripture says should be the “norm” in our lives. Today we have such a verse. Do you have outward joy in your life? Do you have inward joy? Listen to the words of Paul, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord…” Now I’m going to suggest to you that all of this “speaking to one another” and “making melody in our heart to the Lord” is going to come from the overflow of gratitude, thankfulness, and love for God. And all of this is possible because we are “being filled with the Spirit of God.” Without the Spirit, there is no saving faith. Without the Spirit there is no gratitude. And without the Spirit, there is no ability to express lasting, eternal joy. 

There are two responses that we should have flowing from our lives as Christians. First, there is the “speaking to one another.” This is a description of being in fellowship with people who are like-minded and have also experienced saving faith and a receiving of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it’s the Spirit that provides Christians with unity (Ephesians 4:3). It is encouraging when we are in contact with others who belong to Christ. We simply cannot manufacture this with those outside of Christ. We may share bloodline, common likes and dislikes, and even similar lifestyle patterns with others but there is no substitution for connecting on a spiritual level with other Christians. It is the Spirit of God that provides this commonality between believers. 

And how are we to “speak to one another?” Paul says, “with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” I like this because I see all forms of worship music represented here.  Psalms, from the Old Testament, the original songs of the Bible, hymns, the music prevalent in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, and spiritual songs, the current worship music of the day, are all represented. So whether it’s psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, we are to be speaking these things to one another. Paul doesn’t say that we have to sing to each other (you wouldn’t want me to do that…believe me). But we are to speak the truth that comes from these forms of music. Why? Because we, as believers, are living godly lives in an ungodly world. We will be criticized by those who are outside of Christ (for no Christian would insult another Christian for their faith). But we have a spiritual family, a network, a fellowship of people who have one thing in common with us, they are born again believers in Jesus Christ and now live by the power of the Holy Spirit also. So we encourage each other and all the more as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). 

But along with encouraging each other, we are to be “making melody in our hearts to the Lord.” This would be a form of singing. Whether outwardly or “in our hearts,” we are to be praising God all day, everyday. Personally, I believe singing out loud to the Lord is awesome. But if we are not in an environment conducive to that behavior, we can still make melody on the inside. God knows our hearts and is pleased when we take the time to glorify Him with our attention and song, even if it is done inwardly. Consider this:

My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long.

Psalm 71:8

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

      Hebrews 13:15-16

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

    Psalm 150:6

This is just scratching the surface on what the Bible has to say about praising God. This is the reason for our existence. And does “everything that has breath praise the Lord?” Of course not. The depravity of man and the sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1-2) often stands in the way of our fulfilling our purpose, which is to praise God and enjoy fellowship with Him. Rebellion, darkness in the hearts of man, and the unrepentant nature of man’s existence prohibit people from experiencing life to the fullest, the way that God intended. But we, as born again believers in Jesus, have the tremendous privilege of being called His own and, from the depth of our hearts, we can choose to make melody in our hearts to Him. 

Is this the kind of existence that you are experiencing? Are you being filled with the Spirit of God everyday? Are you encouraging others and finding your place in the body of Christ? Are you making melody in your heart to the Lord? It’s amazing how far askew we can get when we allow the noise of the world to override the truth of God’s Word! Recommit, reconnect, and reprioritize your life today, determining not to miss out on anything that God desires for you to enjoy!

Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked.For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord sustains the righteous.The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will be forever.They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, and in the days of famine they will have abundance.But the wicked will perish; and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

Psalm 37:16-20