Song in the Night

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8

My heart is heavy.  It seems as if everywhere I turn, there is sad news.

But this is the season of Good News. 

With Christmas less than a week away, I can’t help but think about those mommies and daddies in Connecticut who will have unopened gifts beneath their trees.  I think of the children who lost a parent and are trying to make sense of a senseless tragedy that will change the rest of their lives. 

My heart aches for my little boy’s pre-school teacher, who will spend her first Christmas without the love of her life.  I think of Cody’s grandma, MeMe, who just lost her soul-mate less than two weeks ago and wonder what it must be like to grow old with someone and then wake up one day and they’re not here anymore. 

My heart can’t seem to grasp the helplessness my sweet friend must feel as she sits beside her little girl in a hospital bed when they should be at home wearing fuzzy slippers, sipping hot chocolate and making cookies to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. 

As I sat down today to pray, all I could get out was, “Jesus, my heart is so, so heavy.”  Words would not come, but tears did.  Lots and lots of tears for all the breaking hearts. 

I so badly wish there was an explanation for all the tragedy, the heartbreak, the loss and grief, all the unanswered questions and uncertainties.  I want to tuck it safely inside a box, wrap it up in pretty paper, and place a shiny bow on top.  But I know that there isn’t an explanation that will help my heart feel less heavy.  There are no words that can take away the pain that these families are feeling. 

This week, I’ve been reading about a king.  He was a great-great-great-grandson to King David.  This King Jehoshaphat is not a king that I remember learning a whole lot about in Sunday school.  2 Chronicles 20 tells of how he responded when devastating news came upon the people of Judah.  When word came that a great and powerful army was coming against them and approaching quickly, King Jehoshaphat turned to God for help.  Verse 4 says that “the people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek him.” 

King Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord in front of the whole group of people gathered.  The last line of his prayer has stayed with me all week.  

“Our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)   

And then, this evening, as I was thinking about how these words spoken by a king all those years ago were exactly the words my heart was crying out, I read the verse that followed.

“All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 20:13) 

As I listen to the radio, watch the news, read blogs, I am aware of one thing:  Every heart is breaking for those families who will attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of a life they once knew. Our hearts break for mommies, for daddies, for sons, for daughters, for brothers and sisters, for husbands, for wives.   All of us are aware of the blessings we tend to take for granted.  We are all pulling our children closer, making more of each moment, and vowing not to ever take a single day with our loved ones for granted. Psalm 34:18 says, "If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there." (MSG)  That's because His heart is breaking, too.  He's there, sorting through the rubble of broken hearts.  He's always right there.

We are all at a loss for words.  And yet, here and there are glimmers of hope woven into the sadness.  There are scripture verses that promise comfort for the broken-hearted.  There is the love of God displayed in helping hands.  There are prayers for strangers.   There are Christmas carols that declare the birth of a Savior.  We are a people with our eyes on the Lord.  We are desperately waiting, hoping, praying, because we do not know what to do.

As the people of Judah waited for an answer from God, He sent a messenger to proclaim to the people, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15)  Then in verse 21 we read that King Jehoshaphat “appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:  ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.’”  In the midst of a very dark night, the people sang songs to God.  The choir went out before the soldiers.

The Bible says, “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20, emphasis mine)   

The Spirit who lives within us gives us our song to sing in the darkest of nights.  The same God who gives us songs in the night gave the angels a song to sing one dark December night, many years ago.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:8-14

God, through His gentle Spirit, shows up in middle of the night to put a song of praise on our lips.   And the One we sing of is the same One we honor at Christmas.  Jesus.  He is our song.  He is our answer.  He is the One we look to when we don’t know what to do.  He is the Light in the darkness.  He is our Song in the night.

The story of King Jehoshaphat ends in victory.  2 Chronicles 20:22 says, “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”   After reading this story about a king who led his people to walk in faith, certain that God would keep His promise, I am reminded that we are holding onto a promise, too.  Jesus is the promise, and He has already won the battle. 

God knows why our hearts are breaking.  We were not made for this dark place.  We cannot make sense of it, because this is not our home.  Revelation 21 talks about a new city, a Holy City, a city where there won’t be any night, a city with no more death or mourning or crying or pain, a city with no more tears.

Jesus, we are waiting on you.  We are looking to you, Jesus, our Light in the dark.  Until then, Jesus, we will sing our songs in the night, praising Your name as we wait.