READING: Lamentations 5:1-22, Obadiah 1:1-21, 2 Kings 25:22-26, Jeremiah 40:7-41:18
The final chapter of Lamentations is a community cry for restoration. Their plight was clear. Their city had faced much anguish under judgment. Disgrace and shame hung in the air. Judgment was surely almost palpable.
Two descriptive phrases, though, catch my attention today—and they both perhaps surprisingly apply in my life. As the writer describes the hurting city, he notes that young men are no longer making music, and dancing has disappeared. After all, how can you sing and dance when you’re mourning over your wrong? Tears make it hard to sing, and overwhelming burdens make it hard to dance.
Now, for the personal application. My wife knows that when I’m experiencing the joy of the Lord – when my heart’s right and I’m at peace – I sing. Sometimes I make up the words, but I sing. At other times, I sing the same song over and over again (which eventually drives her crazy). I’m not a dancer (the Lord gave me little rhythm), but I’ve been known to “pretend dance” in the sweetest moments. I dance because joy and worship won’t let me stay still. When I’m not singing and dancing, however, I know something’s amiss in my spiritual walk.
May God help us to live faithfully today so we can sing and dance—and invite others to do the same.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you singing and dancing on this Lord’s Day?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, give me tapping toes and a singing tongue for Your glory today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 42:1-44:30, Ezekiel 33:21-33
