Raising our Hallelujah

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 106:1

One of my favorite movies of all time is Disney’s Little Mermaid. For me the scene where she loses her voice is one of the most powerful scenes that come to mind. She is in the presence of Ursula, the movie’s representation of evil. She is brilliantly and deceitfully duped into losing one of her greatest joys…singing. As the movie progresses, she fights until her voice has returned and the beauty of her life is restored.

As I considered this scene out of the movie this morning I began wondering who on the other side of this screen has lost your voice. Many of you are going through really hard times right now and I wouldn't blame you if the praise has been interrupted. You are awaking to the same trauma or challenge to which you fell asleep last night. It might be that you are in the raging storm of an illness that has quietened your song. It could be you feel that God has let you down so why lift the praise? It may be the heartbreaking grief that you are going through since your loved one is now in Heaven. The heart feels empty, so the hallelujah seems gone.

What do we do when the evil of sin and sickness steals our voice and mutes our worship? We pray to God to help us in our weakness…we affirm that God is good…we believe that the grave holds no victory…we recite the past faithfuless of God…we remember that God is for us…we choose to raise our song of hallelujah like a battle flag in our war. We start with a whisper as we raise our hallelujah to God and as praise leaves our lips, we regain our voice. "We sing a little louder, ‘Sin and sickness has no power over me.’ We sing a little louder, 'I will sing in the presence of my enemy...' cancer…loneliness…joblessness…depression. We sing a little louder, 'I'm bringing Heaven down to fight for me.'" Raise A Hallelujah, Bethel Music. The verses flow out of our spiritual arsenol as our weapons. There is an evil force that wants to take away our voice and quieten our hallelujah. But our life depends on how we sing during the storm and the contents of our worship. So if your praise seems to be a bit muted, fight for your voice…reclaim your praise…and sing a little louder!