“Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry.” - Amos 5:23-24
Have you ever wondered what God thinks of your singing? Next Sunday, while everyone is singing, look around you. People may all look perfectly respectable and worshipful, even be singing in harmony, but remember that God is listening to the music of the heart. I need to be honest about my heart attitude as I worship God. Am I just performing for others? Is my worship no more than show and pretense? Have I become so good at putting on a show that nobody knows but God? God may be saying to me, “Don’t think you are fooling me. You might be singing in harmony, but I know you’re out of tune with me and with others in the fellowship.”
People make judgments based on outward appearances, but God “looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions” (1 Samuel 16:7). He warns his people to stop being hypocritical and come back to him. If we need to do some business with God, it’s a good idea to do it before next Sunday. Make sure the Lord has no reason to say to the angels that your singing is “only noise” (Amos 5:23).
What God desires from his people are actions that grow out of their relationship with him—“a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living” (Amos 5:24). God wants people to worship him not only on Sunday with the music of their mouths but on every day of the week with the music of their lives.
For Further Study: Amos 5:18-27
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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