Reach for a Song

Joni Eareckson Tada writes, “When pain puts me in constant crisis mode, I become easy prey for the Enemy.  After a long season of trying to stay on top of my pain, I grow weary of fighting.  But not too weary to reach for a song.

     And not just any song.  The lyrics must “possess enough spiritual muscle to barge into my soul and shake awake a hopeful response.”  It must be a hymn or worship song that raises me “onto a different plane spiritually; it must summon in me the emotional wherewithal to remember” my calling so I can push through my pain.  A timeless hymn, filled with deep truths about life and God, has power to press healing and strength into my tired heart.  It also chases away the Enemy.

     The devil hates to hear us sing to God.  When the Colossians were struggling under the madman Nero, Paul ordered, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…singing hymns and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:16).  When the Ephesians were being threatened with torture, Paul told them to encourage “one another with psalm, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19).  When you sing praise to God, you are standing in opposition to all of hell.  You are proclaiming that God is with you in your darkness, comforting you through sadness, and working out His perfect will in your pain.  Your most authentic songs of worship usually happen in the nighttime of your soul.

Meditate:  The devil can’t stand your worship songs, but God loves them.

So keep singing.

(Joni Eareckson Tada, “The Practice of the Presence of Jesus”)