An Intro to Singing

"But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread Your protection over them, and those who love Your name may exult in You." Psalms 5:11

We know that King David glorified the LORD throughout his life - in every situation. “His praise shall continually be in my mouth” David sings in one of his psalms (Psa 34:1). David was called “a man after God’s own heart” for a reason - he was constantly praising God, at all points in his life.

We too want to want to develop a heart like God’s. To do  so we need to keep Him in the forefront of our minds and let His principles affect our daily decisions. If we think of Him and praise Him when times are good, it will be second nature to fall into His care in times of trial.

I, over the course of the summer, had the gratifying opportunity of studying a selection of Psalms composed by the Sons of Korah - Psalms 42, 43, 44, 84, 85, and 87. It is their influence that inspired both the title and topic of this blog: Singing Psalms in the Thunderstorm.

The Sons of Korah might be  a relatively obscure topic for those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to study them at MYC this year. They were the sons of the man that rebelled against Moses in  Numbers 16 - the man by the name of Korah that was swallowed up by the earth along with his two compatriots, Dathan and Abiram. . His descendants faced many hardships, some that were tied to the connotation of Korah’s name, and others that weren’t. And yet, throughout their Psalms, they constantly glorified God  - no matter how bad their circumstances became.

I learned through them that even when  God puts massive trials before you, praise Him, and it will  make you stronger.

It is one of my greatest goals to channel the Sons of Korah’s faithfulness and character in my own life. Because when my life becomes difficult, I don’t always find myself turning to God for help as they did. I realized that their faith must have been momentous - far stronger than my own.

But I have found myself asking how could I possibly develop a faith like theirs. I seem to barely have any time to even open my Bible lately! How am I supposed to keep God’s Word at the front of my focus during the “good” times - let alone the bad - when I don’t open the Scriptures enough to let it saturate into my mind?

So when I came back from MYC with thoughts of the Sons of Korah dominating my mind, I decided I would set another, more detailed, goal for myself - my Action Plan for Going Home.

I decided to start a blog.

I am starting it as a way to keep myself accountable, to make sure I focus on God at least a little bit each day - because if any of you keep a blog, then you know how much time it takes. (I didn’t know this until I hit the ‘post’ button)

But this blog is for you guys, too. I hope I can inspire you to lead godly lives with Christ-like attitudes - no matter what the LORD sets you up against in life.

Singing Psalms in the Thunderstorm will - LORD willing - be a mash-up of a couple different types of posts. Some weeks I’ll post crafts or Bible study techniques that have helped me, some weeks will be character studies and how they dealt with trial (look of a Sons of Korah post in the near future, LORD willing!), and some will be contemplations of particular verses that struck me as I read them.

If you guys have comments, questions, or especially suggestions for future posts, don’t be shy about contacting me!

I look forward to hearing from you and to walking next to you in our travels toward the Truth.

In the Hope of Israel,

Mikaelah B

"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10