Perhaps this world seems comfortable to you because it’s all you’ve ever known but make no mistake, you are a traveler here if you have chosen Jesus as your guide. This is the land you were sent to in order to carry out the will of Father, which is usually revealed bit by bit. “You do not belong to the world–on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world!” (John 15:19)

There is something about you that is not quite human. It is the Spirit that resides in your soul and just as His name implies, He is a Spiritual Being– not human. He is also the most capable leader of your heart, mind, and body–if you turn over the GPS.

In Psalm 137 Israel had been overtaken by the Babylonians who had taken them as captives back to their territory. The psalmist tells us that they had hung their lyres in the trees, “when those who had taken us captive asked us to sing them a song: our tormentors demanded joy from us.” (v137: 3) Has anyone ever demanded joy from you when you felt broken? It is not an easy thing to force. However, the Israelites were not left on their own to find a way to joy.

Their captives said to them, “Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!” Their response was: “How can we sing a song about ADONAI here on foreign soil?” (137:4) The Babylonians could have asked for any kind of song. Why would they want to hear a song about a foreign god? I believe part of it was for Father to show them, and us, that joy and happiness are not dependent on your circumstances or location. I’m sure that as they were forced to sing many of them turned their song into a God-connection changing the position of their heart from defeat to hope.

I also wonder how many from the enemy camp took the words of the song into their own hearts. I am a singer–not one that anyone wants to hear besides Father but to Him, it is a joyful noise. A local musical group, Tandem Hope Worship Project, has graciously allowed me to be a background member of their Torch Night choir. The most recent event was virtual. I was not asked to sing a solo. Thank you Father, from all of us, for I know the musical stage is foreign soil to me. However, I was invited to read one of my devotionals which is much more familiar territory.

Wherever you find yourself–at home or away, by choice or by force–direct your words to the ears of Jesus and find joy in your heart!