God Gives Songs in the Night

Yesterday, in our Women’s Bible Study,  I taught about the the story of Paul and Silas in prison in Acts chapter 16.  Here, unjustly beaten, bruised and bleeding, Paul and Silas CHOOSE not to whine, complain, blame and seek revenge, but to sing and to pray.

I’m convicted and refreshed by this example.

Charles Spurgeon, a well-known saint of the church and preacher from the mid-1800’s said, “Anyone can sing in the day.  It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skilful stager is he who can sing where there is not a ray of light to ready by. Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”

Songs in the night.  When we are surrounded by darkness and have a very real sense of being imprisoned by an injustice or in a time of great suffering, it can be quite difficult to pray. Perhaps, it is even more difficult to sing. But God gives songs in the night.

I know that it is true.  Maybe you do, too.  I am not sure where the songs come from, but they spring forth  and they blossom and bloom.  They are sweet songs, often simple songs, filled with faith and a trust in the Lord who holds all things together. They come during a time when we do not know what to say.  They are words of truth and love that are pushed up out of the ground of our hearts and given life.

Are you scared and overwhelmed with uncertainty?

Are in the vast expanse of loneliness?

Or in the darkness of rejection?

Do you find yourself imprisoned by injustice?

Do you feel stuck in a situation and it appears that there is no way out?

God gives us songs in the night, and God uses our praise to Him for the benefit of others. The pure sound of praise amidst suffering is so lovely, so grace-filled, and so unnatural that it makes others wonder, “How can they do that?”

Others around you may be watching and wondering.  Praise the Lord in your pain, for His sake. Depend on His grace to help you do so. You just may not know how He may use your dependence on Him. Trust on and allow His songs in the night to flow from you.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

The daffodils in my yard, with their yellow, bright faces had finally bloomed. They pushed their way up out of the cold, dark soil, past the remnants of Fall, and announced the arrival of Spring. On sunny days, their heads bounced and bobbed in the gentle warm winds. They manifest hope and growth following a long, silent winter.

But today their sweet heads drooped down as they weathered stronger winds and freezing rain and snow. They seemed to peer at the ground with a yearning for the gentle touch of the sun. They represented perseverance and fortitude, yet appeared sorrowful. Their leaves were covered with droplets of rain, like tears resting on the cheek of one who longs for warmer more hope filled days.

My spirit was downcast within me today, as well. Perhaps the weather did not help, but it was more than that. There was an uneasiness in my spirit. Tears came easier than on more recent days, and my head hung with a more weary countenance than before.

Isn't this how it goes, though in healing? The old adage "two steps forward, one step back" often holds true. We begin to grow and change and blossom out of the darkness. We begin to enjoy the warmth again, and then something happens, or maybe even nothing really obvious happens, and we find ourselves downcast.

Psalm 42:5 says, "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."

The truth is that our hope is not in our circumstances, but in the Lord, and He is a ready help and comfort. He is our Saviour. We may be weathering another brief storm, but our roots are firmly planted in the Lord and we are being held on to and cared for. Warmer days will come when the sun will gently cast its rays across our faces and we will once again look upward. We may not know why we feel as we do, yet we can praise the Lord regardless of the chilling the winds that may blow today.

Dear reader, we can almost be certain that days will come amidst our healing when we find ourselves downcast and discouraged. These are hard days in contrast to the healing that we begin to feel. Yet, we can bless the name of the Lord. It is a choice. I love the song by that title - Blessed Be the Name.

You can listen to it by Tree63 by clicking on this link: http://free.napster.com/player/tracks/23973340 I trust that the Lord will use it to encourage and strengthen you. He used it to help me tonite. In praising Him I am feeling His comfort and His grace. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Praise Will Always Be on My Lips

Rejoicing in all circumstances -- this is what has been on my mind over the last couple of days. When we are at the end of our ropes and feel as our breath has been taken away we are called to praise.

Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" and then, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (vs. 6)

In everything, joys and deep sorrows, we are to praise the Lord. When we want to curl up and cry and retreat and maybe even give up, turn to praise and trust the Living God to come and meet you in the midst of your deepest sorrow, offered up as a sacrifice of praise.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, through the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, through there are not sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in god my Savior" Habakkuk 3:17-18.

When we feel fruitless, bare, without much to be thankful for, we can still rejoice in the Lord. And when we exercise such faith, we realize that the Sovereign Lord will not only strengthen us to endure, but He makes our feet like the feet of a deer; he enables us to go on the heights (vs. 19). We can walk forward with sure footed confidence because we learn more of who God is in praise.

The bible is full of praises to the Lord. When we read through the Psalms and praise the Lord, regardless of what circumstances we are trudging through, God's Word will nourish our hearts and souls so that we can say with the Psalmist,

"I will extol the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together."

Psalm 34:1-3.