Sing and Shout for joy!

"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" Psalm 32:11. One of the ways we can express our joy and rejoice is by singing psalms, hymns and other spiritual songs. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord," Ephesians 5:19, this is Paul's excellent advice to us. When the devil starts to bother us we can literally sing him out of our lives, or we can 'shout' him out, which means shouting praise and glory to God. There is no focus on the issue, problem, devil or depression; the attention is ALL on God. If you sing more and shout more you will notice that you will start to feel better as it creates a protective wall around us. These acts can also tear down walls and strongholds. In Joshua
6:20, God directed the people to shout and bring down a wall, they raised a great shout and Jericho's wall fell down and the Israelites passed through and took the city. An excellent way to use this tool is to get up every morning with a song on your lips and praise in your mouth for the Lord as a means of dispelling depression. Discipline yourself to make song and praise part of your morning routine, stop sitting in tired silence or staring at the television. Start your day the best way; sing and shout! Songs and shouts of deliverance can overcome downcast feelings and emotions. David battled with depression, and consequently many of his psalms are songs of praise to God to be sung in the midst of disturbing and unsettling situations. When you feel down, turn to the psalms and speak them out loud. Speaking out loud has a far greater impact on you than just silently reading and as long as we don't just read it and confess it, but actually do it then the promises in the Word of God will come to pass. Paul said that we must operate by the Spirit of God and not by the flesh. In Galatians 6:8 he warned that; "he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." This is why we need to learn to do as David did and speak to our soul, otherwise it will take control over us and lead us to decay, ruin and destruction. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God." Psalm 42:5. Our inner self can at times feel cast down just like David's did. When he felt that way he put his hope in God and waited expectantly for God, praising him. David knew that when he got down, his countenance went down with him. That is why he talked to himself, his soul, and encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord 1 Samuel 30:6. When we find ourselves in that same depressed state we should wait expectantly for the Lord, praise him and encourage and strengthen ourselves in him. "We who are righteous, in right standing with God, by believing in Jesus Christ, we who take refuge and put our trust in the Lord can sing and shout for joy! The Lord makes a covering over us and defends us, he fights our battles for us when we praise Him!" 2 Chronicles 20.