Sing Him a Song

 2 Chronicles 20:21-22, "After consulting the people, 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." 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."

Don't get me wrong, I love music and I love to sing and dance, but singing is the last thing I want to do when I'm faced with adversity. When facing the great GIANTS of this life, like fears, uncertainties, doubts, losses, hurts, betrayals, all I want to do is cave in, run and hide, or just cry in despair. If I'm honest, when I'm faced with the giants, my natural instinct is to go into survival mode or the good old "I can fix this" mode. I try my hardest to muster up strength. I look for ways out.  I call on friends for help. I spend sleepless nights evaluating, strategizing, agonizing, and overthinking. And when I finally do call on God, it mostly sounds like, "Please help me, God!"  

But singing and praising? No, that's not my initial go to. That isn't what I cling to, although I do cling to some things. I've been known to cling to my own strength. I count on my own understanding. And I hold tightly to my own control of the situations. Yes, I admit, these strategies all sound like a foolish thing for those of us who claim to know an all powerful God. It is a foolish thing for those of us who say we have a Lord and Savior who loves us and provides for us. 

You see when things are going well and everything seems to be going our way, we find it very easy to sing His praises and tell others how great God is. When things are seemingly moving along smoothly, we are quick to tell about His power and might. So why is it that when life brings forth hardships and uncertainties, our voices go frail and our mouths are silent? It's like that cricket emoji. Hey, but even the crickets praise Him! How foolish are we! That we miss the mark time and time again. 

Still God, in His loving kindness, comes close and whispers... "try talking to me"  "sing me a song" "I am trust-worthy" and "I will see you through."  Indeed, our God is good. He is good during the good times and even so much more during the hard times. I'm speaking from experience, when I tell you that He has proven Himself faithful time and time again during the worst of my times. Even though I could never be worthy of it, He has always remained patient with me, and He's also remained praise-worthy. In fact, praises to God can be our greatest defense in times of trouble; and we can find strength within those praises. For ultimately, God claims our victory, when we lift our praise to Him.

I wasn't planning to share this, but in my recollection of times when God was faithful and praise was my only defense against the giants, I remember a time when I went through a long phase of not wanting to talk with Him. It was a time when I couldn't get myself to draw near to Him. And I chose to be silent. I dwelled in my own feelings and frustrations. And I questioned His faithfulness and kindness simply because things did not go as I had planned. And I drifted. I drifted away from Him. I stayed at arms length, knowing full well that He was not to blame for the hardships I faced. But I blamed Him anyway. I rationalized a way to be angry with God. And although I'm not proud of it, I share this because He never once left my side even during those endless days and nights of my inner struggle and wrestling with Him.  Yes, I tried wrestling with God. How absurd! 

But even in my doubting and questioning, I could sense it in my spirit that God was closer than I thought. I sensed His protection over my life time and time again. And I'd sense His presence when no one else was around. And in my chaos and in my drifting, I could hear Him whispering. "Try talking to me" "Sing me a song" "I am trust-worthy" and "I will see you through."  And then one day I did what He asked of me. I talked to Him. I cried with Him. I let Him comfort me. I let Him hold me. And I finally sang to Him. 

I wish I could tell you that my song was strong and that it took all my problems away. I wish I could tell you that my praise was a quick remedy and that all was wonderful again. But the reality is that the praise was soft and intermingled with many tears. It was frail and weak but still audible enough for a GREAT God to hear. And as I sang songs of praise to Him, I could feel the weight of all I was holding on to being lifted. As I lifted my voice, I began to experience peace of mind. When I praised His name, I could feel the tightness on my chest loosening up, and I could even breathe more easily. With every word I'd sing, I could feel myself releasing control, and it was freeing. Ultimately, praising God became my saving grace during the worst times of my life. Lifting my voice to Him became my greatest defense in times when it felt like the world was coming down on me. 

And finally victory came. It came in the form of uplifted spirits within me. It came as peace of mind and a night of good sleep and rest. It came as laughter and joy spending time with family. It came as tears of relief on a soft Saturday morning sitting all alone at my kitchen table, knowing that God was there with me... sitting beside me, as I sang Him a song. 

Be encouraged my friend. If you are finding it hard to sing His praises, He understands. He is aware of how hard life can be. But this life and its GIANTS are not yours to defeat. That is too great a challenge for us. Therefore, I encourage you to just "talk to Him" and try "singing to Him" for "He is trust-worthy" and I am confident that "He will see you through."

Take care my friend.