PSALM 137:1 and 4: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept, when we remembered Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” When the Israelites were taken captive by their enemies in Babylon, they initially became despondent and were reduced to tears. Singing praises to God in a foreign and hostile environment had to be the most difficult exercise. But they did! They determinedly immersed themselves in meditating and reflecting on the attributes of the Almighty Jehovah God.

They remembered God’s mercy and goodness, His faithfulness, His everlasting covenant, His miraculous acts and delivering power and they remembered how He had delivered them in the past from their enemies. When they began to engage passionately in praises, the joy of the Lord became their strength and their initial despondency was replaced with renewed energy and hope; so God prospered them right there in a strange land!

How often do we become crippled by our seemingly hostile environment and sometimes devastating circumstances, forgetting that God is not threatened or incapacitated by any situation or unfriendly environment, no matter how formidable they may seem. Nothing displaces God from His Sovereignty; He is God all by Himself! Like the Israelites we just need to reflect on the truth of God’s word and on His faithful and victorious track record. Doing this will ignite praises to the Lord and soon we will be so engrossed with the joy of the Lord that the hostile environment will become strangely insignificant and the goodness of God will overtake us! So praise anyhow!

Eternal Father, help us to realise that You are not limited by our geographical locations or circumstances. As a nation we are determined to sing Your praises wherever we are, and declare that You are both the God of the mountain and of the valley, and that Your goodness and mercy endure forever. Praise God!

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

celtakirk@yahoo.com