A long life becomes a treasure chest of many things – memories, truths, loves, songs, sufferings – the list is almost endless. This treasure chest is intensely personal, and I have found that when I open it in times of confusion or need, hope and faith are there for me to put on once again.

I often wonder at the story in Acts 16 of Paul and Silas in prison. They had been severely beaten and thrown into prison because of lies and misrepresentation. But in the middle of the night, their fellow prisoners heard them SINGING and praying. How does this happen? How does one have a “song in the night” when, in the natural, everything you have experienced spells pain and despair? Job had an idea. According to him, “God is our creator, the one who gives songs in the night.”

We live in a time where we no longer have to look for songs of worship. In my case, Spotify faithfully presents me with a list of what I might like, every day! 😊 I have been analyzed and categorized, so, in general the music reflects my taste, BUT it does NOT reflect my experience – this is found in playlists that I have put together myself. When I need a “song on the night”, what comes up are those songs that I have spent time with, songs that lingered even after the battle was over. Words that I have sung as a statement of war (often in the shower!), tear-stained whisperings of surrender, these are my “songs in the night.” One of the reasons I miss hymns in our modern charismatic churches is because I miss the power of words crafted in the crucible of faith. Emotions are easily titillated by the new and fashionable, but faith that abides comes from truth repeated often enough to be engraved on our souls.

I am still moved by the poetry of the hymns and the melodies of the songs that became part of me with the old Gospel Hymns of my youth.  My mother-in-law’s hymn book is always on my piano and the circled numbers reflect her “songs in the night.”  My own parents went to certain songs so often that I can sing them to this day.

How rich am I!

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