“Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.” Psalms 100:2 MSG
I used to think that before you could sing praises and worship God, you had to be in a certain state. You had to feel connected and meditative. You had to feel like singing.
But as I grew in knowledge, I realized that singing is what gets us into that state. After all, you don’t get to enter His gates without Thanksgiving.
The message translation put it ever so perfectly; “Sing yourselves into his presence”. In the bid to constantly stay in God’s presence, it’s easy to think that a requirement is for everything around us to be perfect. That’s false.
You can be in the middle of a storm and enter God’s presence by singing. You can feel heartbroken, depressed, neglected, tired, and stressed out and decide to enter God’s presence.
And here’s the cool thing; as you sing into his presence, something happens to your emotions. Your emotions start to create the right atmosphere that allows you to bring a gift of laughter to God. That gift won’t fall in your lap. You activate it.
So, the next time you want to feel God’s presence and need to create that atmosphere of joy, just start singing. Create the gift of gladness and present it.
How can we stay in God’s presence as we work?
Depending on what you do, it may be difficult to stay in singing mode. When brainstorming, the only thing I want my mind to do is think, not sing.
This is why I teach integration, and not just balance. Balance says, “Have a time of the day you get into God’s presence and only dedicate that time for that.” With integration, you can do this throughout the day.
But why should you even stay in God’s presence while you work?
Exceptional work requires wisdom. And sometimes, the wisdom you’ve acquired from your knowledge and understanding isn’t enough. There are times I have received unique insights into certain problems that I know didn’t come from my head.
Constantly staying in God’s presence ensures you’re always connected to receive swift answers to issues you may encounter during your day. You’re also able to constantly reverence God because to stay in His presence, you need joy. And you can’t have joy if you’re not grateful for what you’re doing at the time.
So, to enter into and stay in His presence, pick a playlist of songs that elevate your spirit and edify your mind. Use headphones, or a speaker and put the songs on repeat, singing along.
I love this method because the music app doesn’t know when something bad happens; it’ll just keep playing. As I hear the songs, I’ll then be reminded to get back to singing. Trying to do it on my own all through the day has never worked.
Try this out and thank me later.
“To constantly receive wisdom, and direction and give God reverence, I must stay in His presence. Songs that can help me feel more connected include…”
Time to build your playlist. You may prefer to put one song on repeat or build a playlist of 100 songs. Do what suits you best.
The only criterion is to choose songs that glorify God. Not your body. Not your work. But God.
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