Noises-An act of worship!

What do you define as a joyful noise? Birds chirping, children laughing, waves coming to the shore. Perhaps the voice of a loved one on the other end of your phone. Now what do you define as noise less joyful? Sirens blaring, people fighting, fingernails on a chalkboard. Perhaps the sound of something that repeats itself over & over again causing an annoyance. It's interesting how some noises can be joyful to one person & yet with that same noise it can be an annoyance to another. For instance hearing the sound of children laughing may be medicine to the soul for one person and grief to the heart for another who may have lost a child or aches for a child. Also how the sound of waves coming to shore can be relaxing to one person and scary to someone else who may have a fear of water. A lot of how we react to certain noises can be based off of our previous experiences in life.

This past week a lesson in how a noise is defined was different for people in our family. Our new little guy that has been living with us for less than a month struggles with being able to read well. I've noticed when we're at church and the worship songs are on the screen up front I will hear him make noises to go along with the songs, but it doesn't sound like he is singing the actual words. In the van the other night as our family was coming home from dinner our new little guy was trying to sing along to the song on the radio with "his noises." One of our other children at first thought he was messing around and just making annoying noises. It dawned on me that he was trying to sing the song with the way he knew how to sing it. If you don't know the words, then make up a tune or noise to go along with it anyways. Our other child was quick to understand and didn't say anything to him. God brought to my mind the verse from Psalm 100:1(KJV) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. This got me thinking that even though we may not understand what our new little guy is singing when he worships in church, God does! God hears the sounds that come from his heart and I truly believe it is a beautiful act of worship unto the Lord. Makes me stop and examine my own heart and the noises that come forth from it. Are "my noises" a beautiful act of worship unto the Lord or am I more concerned with what others think of "my noises." Dear Jesus, may they be a beautiful act of worship unto You!!!!!!!