Singing the Rain

'Then Moses recited the words of this song, to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

"Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew;
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth."'

- Deuteronomy 31:30-32:2

I was talking today with someone about the gift of worship. It was something many had told him he had, but he still wasn't really sure meant. While I responded then with what I thought might be helpful, our conversation led me to a related idea that resonated with the above verse from what's known as "The Song of Moses."

As I was reading this passage, I was struck by the fact that Moses sings in the first place. Moses wasn't much of a natural public speaker, much less a singer, yet here he is in front of his entire nation, reciting/performing this song. What could have led him to this?

The thought I had was that sometimes only songs will do. Whether you're walking through the trees with a gentle breeze for company, or you're at the top of mountain range watching the rising sun appear, sometimes the only response that can even come close to being appropriate is a song. Yesterday evening, one of my colleagues from seminary said the following (more or less) to our ministry: "Sometimes all God wants from us is to just look in the mirror and smile, because that's what he does when he sees us." I think one could exchange the word smile with sing and still have something of the right picture.

Worship, like song, is not something best left to the overly self-conscious. When we are so concerned with how we sound or the image that we present, it's hard for our voices to be free, or for our souls to sing out. I think an essential part of following Christ, however, is regularly breathing deeply into our diaphragms, opening our mouths, and letting The Song of You, the Ballad of Grace, the Hymn to Him come pealing out.