Joe likes to sing in the choir. But he was always off beat and off notes and it was affecting the choir as a whole. The efforts of the choir director to get him out of the choir were not working. Joe thinks he is doing a fantastic job and is so excited to be part of the choir. Finally, the choir director approached the pastor. The Pastor called Joe and said, “I think you are good fit for leading the children’s church and I want you to take that responsibility. Joe said, “no pastor, that is the time when the choir sings, and I cannot miss the choir.” The Pastor then asked him to take up an usher position and he refused. “Pastor, you know I sing in the choir, and I cannot miss it”, said Joe. After trying several things, Pastor finally told him, ”Joe, some people have told me that you can’t sing, and you need to get out of the choir”. Joe was shocked, and paused for a moment and replied, “pastor, several people have told me that you can’t preach.”
Singing in a crowd can be easy but singing a solo is not, especially when you don't know the notes or the tunes. Singing in good times are easy, but singing in the dark moments are not. The message of this psalm is that when we look up to God we can sing even on the darkest day. Singing songs of praises to God will bring light in the midst of darkness. In Psalm 42, the Sons of Korah find that things are not getting better. "Though deep calls unto deep” (v-7). Things may seem going from bad to worse."Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me." (Ps 42:8). In Acts 16:20-25 we read that Paul and Silas were put in a Philippian jail accused of spreading customs that were unlawful for Romans. They had been severely flogged and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. They were put in the inner cell which was darker than other and fastened their feet in the stocks. In the darkness of their pain and suffering, they sang songs of praise. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. This was witnessed by other prisoners and eventually the jailor and family believed in Jesus and were baptized. Midnight melodies can transform our lives as well as the lives of others around us.
Fanny Crosby, the American song writer and composer has been called “The Songbird in the Dark.” Though blinded in infancy at six weeks old, she wrote hymns that inspire us even today. By the time of her death at the age of 94, she had penned at least 8,000 hymns and over 100 million copies printed. Songs such as “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” and “To God Be the Glory” are still popular today. Edward Mote wrote the familiar hymn, "On Christ the Solid Rock." He sings in that song: “When Darkness seems to hide His face, I rest of His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil." German composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s hearing gradually faded to the point where he could communicate only by means of writing. It was after Beethoven lost his hearing that he wrote some of his greatest masterpieces.
Jesus was getting ready to face the cross and death when He celebrated the last supper with his disciples. Jesus took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” He knew that one of his own disciples would betray him. He knew Peter was going to deny him and all the disciples would stray. Yet, we read that "They sang a hymn that night, before they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Matthew 26:30).
Our midnight melodies can become the deliverance songs in the dark of night. On March 30, 1899, it was a Maundy Thursday, a Brititsh ship by name stella sank in the middle of the night with 147 passengers and 43 crew. There were only four life boats in the ship. The ship sank in 8 minutes and 77 people died. Rescue ships were sent from the shore, but because of fog they could not see or find location. There were 12 women in a lifeboat that wandered in the darkness. Margaret Williams (AKA Greta Williams) started composing and singing a song that came to her mind. "O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him, He shall give thee thy heart desires; commit thy way unto Him. Fret not but trust Him."(Ref. Psalm 69). In the beginning she was singing alone, but later another woman joined and a few more joined after that and then all of them joined and sang with loud voices. Their song became louder and louder as the fierce waves thundered against them in the midst of the gloomy darkness. The rescue ships heard a bleak sound of singing in the foggy darkness. They steered in the direction and rescued all of them. Midnight melodies overcame the dark of despair and gave way to rescue.
Singing in the dark is not easy. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, "It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by.” It is hard to sing when you can’t see the notes. “We look before and after,And pine for what is not: Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.” (Ode to a Skylark - poem by Percy Byshe Shelley). It is often in our darkest times of discouragement and disappointment, that God makes His presence known most clearly. During our sufferings and troubles He is our source of strength. He will give a "song in the night."
We all go through periods of darkness in our life at point or another. Illness, broken relationships, loss of loved ones, conflicts, stress, and many other challenges that bring darkness. Our lives are filled with darknss of exhaustion and weakness, doubt and anxiety, bewilderment and fear, or of oppression and injustice. Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed and discouraged. But as Christians, we can look forward with hope. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we can live with the assurance that the best is yet to come. We can look forward to an eternal life of joy and peace with our Lord and Savior.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899-1993) was an African American jazz musician from Atlanta. In 1932 while Dorsey was leading a church service, a man came on to the platform to hand him a telegram that said his wife had just died in childbirth along with the new born baby. Dorsey quickly spiraled downward into the depths of despair, doubting the goodness of God. He determined he would never write or sing another hymn. It was the darkest time of his life when God seemed to be out of reach. A week after that horrible and life changing day, Thomas was deep into his grief. He was sitting alone at a piano in a friend's music room. Into his heart came a sense of peace such as he had never known before. As that peace enveloped him, his burden seemed to be lifted and he started writing the song “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”. God had given him a song that would not only lift him from despair, but would also change the course of his music career. "Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light; Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home." People of faith often find new joy in their night of sorrow and unexpected grace in their time of need. When darkness seems to hide the hope we can expect to hear the matchless harmonies of heaven. The psalmist also wrote, “In the night His song shall be with me” (Psalm 42:8).
Blessings
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