If you are struggling to sleep this week, softly recite the Spirit-inspired words of a poem. Tune in all week to hear Joni share some of her favorite poems.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and it’s National Poetry Month.
There’s something about poetry that reaches deep into a wounded heart, a hurting or troubled heart. And my heart is no exception, especially in the middle of the night when pain pushes away any comfort, and, well, I just wish sleep came easier. You know what I mean? But what’s the sense of lying there in bed, anxious and full of fear? It does my heart no good, and anxious feelings only make sleep more elusive. Better to put myself under the shower of God’s mercy; that is to say, I’m better off doing something, anything that aligns myself with the Lord.
And so, through the watches of the night, I will soothe my troubled heart by reciting Scripture or whispering the words to a hymn. But often, it’s with a poem. Softly reciting Spirit-inspired words that are gentle and soothing does my troubled heart so much good. It’s why all this week I’m sharing a collection of poems, ones that have ministered to me in those nighttime hours. And this one is especially helpful in dark moments of anxiety. Paul Revenson wrote it and it’s called, appropriately, “Give Me a Song in the Night.” Just listen and see if it doesn’t touch your heart…
Give me a song in the night, loving Lord,
send me a melody deep…
so all my soul, my heart and my mind,
can recount how You lovingly keep.
Give me a song when the hours grow long,
and much of life seems to go wrong;
when its shadows befall –
and my faith seems so small,
In the night, Jesus, give me a song.
Though my dreams would seem crushed,
mirth and music lie hushed,
and the worst might seem to impend,
send me a song in the night, dearest Lord,
whose worship and praise sees no end.
Send me a sound of sunshine so sweet,
[when] life’s last winter’s sun has gone down.
Therein might I sing, giving thanks in all things,
whether to want or [to] abound.
Give me a song in the night, loving Lord,
which life’s storms with… clouds cannot blight.
That I might not just sing ‘when… lark’s on the wing’,
Savior, send me a song in the night.
Ooh, that’s beautiful, isn’t it? I like that part, “Send me a sound of sunshine so sweet when life’s last winter’s sun has gone down.” Oh, we’ve all sure experienced that, haven’t we? And it’s why the Bible points to “songs in the night.” There are many references in the Bible about that, but perhaps the most famous one is Job 35:10 where Job describes God as giving “songs in the night.” They’re a gift – God gives them, those songs – a gift from God that chases away fear in the night. I’m sure you know the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16 when they were bruised and beaten and chained in a jail cell. But they were not about to let fear and anxiety seize their hearts; instead, they reached for a song in the night, and it made all the difference. So, songs in the night, I think, are God’s prescription for the troubled heart that cannot sleep. And you may want to memorize the one I shared today by Paul Revenson. Just go to my radio page at joniradio.org and download the poem I shared today called “Give Me a Song in the Night.” Or I would be happy to mail you a copy. Just write me at Joni and Friends, PO Box 3333, Agoura Hills, California, 91376. My, I haven’t given that address in a long time! And you know what? As you sleep tonight – or maybe as you cannot sleep – I pray that God will give you a song in the night. This evening, may you have a good night’s sleep.
© Joni and Friends