The hardest battles are the ones fought in the night, when you must be silent with yourself. Keep singing brave songs in the night, for God always provides the music and the courage to carry on.
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Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I’m coming up on quite a milestone.
Next week I’ll be marking 55 years I’ve lived as a quadriplegic and, believe me, that’s a milestone. And honestly, as I look back on those early days when I was first injured, I’ve never forgotten the panic, the fear, the claustrophobia that overwhelmed me, just thinking of a future without hands that work or feet that walk. Back then, it was the nights that were the hardest. At least when I sat up in a wheelchair in the daytime, I could move; I could flail my arms; I could face life head-on. But at night in the darkness, at night when I would lie in bed feeling like gravity was pressing me into the mattress, when I could not even raise my head on the pillow, well, you can imagine how hard it was.
Perhaps even for you, it is those dark hours in the night when life seems to close in. When all looks bleak. Well, for me, it was terrifying and for many months I would want to sleep with the light on. Leave the bedroom door open. Don’t close the drapes. But still, what was I to do with all those sleepless midnight hours? It was around this time I was thinking a lot about Job and his nights of anguish. And it's when I stumbled across Job 35 and how God gives us “songs in the night.” And so, back then, to ease my anguish, I began whisper-singing all the many hymns I had memorized through my childhood: “Abide with Me,” “Be Still my Soul,” “Trust and Obey.” And I began to feel a sweet peace while singing, “This is my Father’s world, oh may I never forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father’s world, the battle is not done. Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.”
You know, the hardest battles are the ones you fight in the night. The greatest victories are usually won away from the noise of the day. It is when we are alone; when we have to be silent with ourselves; this is when our triumphs mean the most. And now, 55 years later, I’m still singing songs in the night to chase away discouragement and win victories for the Lord. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full… any man can praise… God [for] a plenteous harvest… The difficulty is for [the] music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; [ah] but he is skillful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by… [So] Lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give[s] me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip… Then, since our Maker gives [us] 'songs in the night,' let us wait upon Him for the music."
You know, as I approach this benchmark in my life, 55 years, celebrate with me by choosing songs in your night. Wait upon God for the music. Songs are always at their sweetest when sung in the night season. So, keep singing brave music, and I invite you to join me all next week as I share more lessons that I have learned throughout the many decades I’ve been in my wheelchair. And remember, when we’re alone, when we have to be silent with ourselves, when it’s dark and no one’s around, this is when your triumphs mean the most. That’s my good word to you today, sharing hope in your hardship. Go today to joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends