How Shall We Sing?

This was an interesting chapter to read. Initially, I didn’t know what to write about or where to go. These verses read like cryptographic poems, and I had to read them three times before finding an idea of what to write.
I want to focus on the following verses:
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song
    in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!
I went to a very secular college, Syracuse University. It was my first time away from home and, more importantly, my first time away from mandatory church attendance. At college, I didn’t have to go to church. I could sleep in, play video games, drink or smoke. Really whatever I wanted.
In other words, being in a foreign land is often the first test of your faith. Is it real or not? Will you still sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
I love the way these verses explain the consequences of not doing that. My right hand forgetting its skill and my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth symbolize the death of our spiritual self.
Forgetting Jerusalem, or God, so to speak, means we forget who we are as God’s creation. And that sounds horrible.
But that’s why I love foreign lands. It tests your faith and proves that it’s real.
- Brandon Beylo

[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect.
+ What verses stand out to you most in this text?
+ What part of these verses confuses you the most? And why?

[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life.
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ Was there a period in your life where you lived in a “foreign land” and found it hard to sing the song of God?

[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
+ Pray with me:
Lord, pray that I continue to sing your song in foreign lands. Give me the courage to boast in your name and sing your praises despite enemies or fears.

[ SHARE ] what God is teaching you with at least one person: your roommate,
your spouse, your kids, or your coworkers. Don’t keep what God taught you to
yourself.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.org/community-groups)
yourself:
+ Talk today’s message over with someone who is discipling you, and someone you are discipling.
+ Who is in a foreign land currently that needs your support and prayer?