Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter understands the how important it is to sing praises back to God.
The question is, do you?
“In April 2014, a young boy named Willie Myrick was in his front yard when somebody grabbed him and threw him into a car,” Carter wrote in a post on social media. “While in the back of the car, he began to sing the gospel song called ‘Every Praise.’ Willie said that the kidnapper started cursing and repeatedly told him to stop, but he refused. He sang the song for about three hours until the kidnapper let him go.”
“This story shows how powerful our praise and worship is; when we worship the name of Jesus Christ through our song, both our soul and the atmosphere around us shift,” the athlete reflected.
John, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, wrote in Revelation 5:9, “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
“Revelation describes an angelic choir singing a new song to the Lord Jesus Christ. A song of praise that describes God’s nature, character and redemptive work based on what the angels have observed. But what if I told you there is a song that even the angels in heaven cannot sing?” Carter asked.
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He then referenced Revelation 14:3, which reads, “And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”
“This song is for every redeemed person, past, present, and future. It reflects Christ’s redemptive work through His blood and the forgiveness of our sins (Eph 1:7). Unlike angels or other creatures, we uniquely experience redemption, which allows us to sing this song for all eternity,” Carter explained. “Everyone who has put their faith in Christ possesses a unique song to sing throughout their life, written by their own journey through sin and grace. A song that declares our redemption from death to life only through Christ.
“What a joy it will be to join the angels in declaring God’s majesty, and what a greater joy to sing a unique song that only the redeemed possess,” he concluded. “As you read this, you are invited to respond to Christ’s redemption. You can either stay enslaved to sin and Satan leading to eternal death or to live free and redeemed through the love of Jesus Christ. Will you respond?”
Carter’s reflection shows us that praise is not just a response we have when things go or don’t go our way; it’s evidence of our faith in God no matter our circumstances.
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